Nestlé Partners With International Cocoa Initiative To Build Inclusive And Resilient Communities

Chief of Trede in the Ashanti Bekwai Municipal presenting the bamboo bike to one of the Farmers

Nestlé and ICI have deployed the first ever private sector child labour monitoring and remediation system. The event took place at a launch ceremony in Ashanti Bekwai of the Ashanti Region. Speaking at the event, the Corporate Communications & Public Affairs Manager of Nestlé Ghana, Mrs. Ama Amoah said: “At Nestlé, we believe that there is no place for child labour in our value chain”.

Nestlé as a company is committed to “enhancing the quality of life and contributing to a healthier future’. We do this by ensuring happy healthy lives for individuals and families, by building resilient communities and caring for the planet. We are guided by the values of respect, for self, others, diversity and the future.

In Ghana, through the Nestlé Cocoa Plan, Nestlé has built 3 schools, and 8 bore holes in communities within the Eastern and Ashanti regions.

Nestlé is the first cocoa buyer to set up a Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation system, in partnership with the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI). This system combines different methodologies ranging from data gathering about the prevalence of child labour violations within the cocoa value chain, and putting in pace specific measures to remediate children identified.

Through a farmer- community- supplier based approach, Child Labour Monitoring Agents help to devise and organise specific intervention efforts needed to help each child whiles supporting the data gathering process.

Nestlé on its part, funds the system by paying directly or by paying premium to the farmers for good quality cocoa that meets certification standards. In Ghana, Nestlé also helps farmers to improve their productivity by training them with good agricultural practices.

The joint collaboration with Ghana Bamboo bikes Ltd. will provide easy access to communities to facilitate the monitoring and remediation system. This initiative is worth commending and is one of the ways of promoting private- private partnerships.