Washington, U.S.A. – The World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) is launching a $4 million initiative to benefit 35,000 cocoa farmers in three West African countries that are among the world’s largest producers of cocoa.  The announcement comes as part of the Symposium on Global Agriculture and Food Security, taking place alongside the 2012 G8 Summit in Washington.

“WCF and our Member companies continue to invest in Sub-Saharan Africa and work together with national governments and partners to show our long-term commitment to cocoa farmers in the region,” said WCF President Bill Guyton.  Guyton also noted recent findings that demonstrate a strong link between modern cocoa farming techniques and food security in cocoa-growing areas.

Guyton said, “Cocoa farmers already have mastered concepts essential for producing crops and bringing a product to market.  Cocoa trees are well suited for combining with food crops. Cocoa farmers are uniquely positioned to form a cornerstone of many countries’ food security strategies.”

The new $4 million in WCF support comes in the form of a matching grants program and financial growth fund to provide business training and improved farming techniques to small-scale family farmers in Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, and Cameroon. Program activities will be carried out under the auspices of WCF’s ongoing $40 million Cocoa Livelihoods Program, which is co-funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and 16 leading WCF members.

The investment is matched by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Sustainable Trade Initiative and WCF Member company partners, with the aim of doubling farm household incomes. WCF Member companies participating in the matching grants program include Kraft Foods; Mars, Incorporated; Cargill; ADM Cocoa; Barry Callebaut; Armajaro Trading Ltd.; ECOM Cocoa;  and Olam International Ltd.

As a complement to the new program, WCF Member The Hershey Company has developed a text messaging service to support cocoa farmers in the field by providing critical information on fertilizer application, plant husbandry, harvesting techniques and other farming practices, as well as social messaging on topics such as prevention of HIV/AIDS and malaria.

Through the program, WCF also will increase cocoa farmers’ access to credit for fertilizer and other needs. The program additionally provides support to cocoa farmer organizations to expand their outreach to non-member farmers and to improve business operations. The program will be self-sustaining.

Image Courtesy of   Gates Foundation

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The following is being released by Green America, Washington, D.C.:

The “Raise the Bar, Hershey!” Coalition which has called on The Hershey Company to remove forced child labor from its products has an additional target this Easter: Cadbury/Kraft.

While Cadbury has demonstrated its commitment to ending forced child labor in the West African cocoa industry by selling Fair Trade certified chocolates in the UK, Canada, Ireland, Japan, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand—the same cannot be said of Cadbury products sold in the United States.

Why?

In 1988, Hershey purchased Cadbury’s U.S. chocolate business, including the exclusive rights to make and sell well-known brands like Cadbury Creme Eggs, and Cadbury Solid Milk Chocolate Bunnies.

The petition, launched last week, has already generated more than 5,000 signatures to the CEO’s of Hershey and Kraft/Cadbury.

Steven Waters, a supporter of the campaign in North Carolina, stated: ”I was shocked to learn that Cadbury’s products in the U.S. are made by Hershey. Learning that forced child labor was an ingredient in their seemingly innocent Easter chocolates made it easy to persuade my girlfriend’s family to discontinue their large quantity purchases of Chocolate Creme Eggs this year.”

“Unfortunately, Hershey refuses to meet the standard set by Cadbury overseas of offering at least one major fair trade product, despite almost two years of mounting consumer pressure,” said Green America Fair Trade Campaigns Director Elizabeth O’Connell. ”With Easter around the corner, the third most popular chocolate-consuming holiday in the U.S., consumers want to be able to buy Easter treats for their families that align with their values.”

The petition is coordinated by Raise the Bar, Hershey!, a coalition of organizations fighting ongoing labor abuses such as child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking in the West African cocoa industry.

Image Courtesy of    http://www.flickr.com/photos/owlpacino/

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