ALBA, Italy – Ferrero has made a significant step towards full traceability of its cocoa supply chain and towards improving lives for children in the cocoa sector. In their first Cocoa Progress Report, they outline the results of their cocoa sustainability program in 2020/21 and the impact of the strategic partnership with Save the Children on children and families in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana.
Ferrero reports the following progress made during the 2020/21 season:
- 96% of cocoa is traceable to farm level via GPS (88% via Polygon mapping), which allows us to meet the needs of the farmers in a targeted way
- 96% of farmer groups are covered by a Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation System (CLMRS), an essential tool to have visibility and act on potential issues affecting children in the supply chain
- 19 schools were built or renovated (83 in total by 2020/21) ensuring children have access to education
- 937 Village Saving and Loans Associations (VSLA) groups mostly led by women were established
- 100% of cocoa is sourced through certification and independently managed sustainability standards such as Rainforest Alliance, Cocoa Horizon, Fairtrade or others.
- 111,000 ha of agroforestry were established, and 1.5 million cocoa seedlings were distributed to restore forest areas on and off farms 27,000 farmers received targeted support to improve farming practices and diversify incomes
Also, as part of its efforts to improve farmers’ livelihoods, Ferrero has recently signed – alongside other major companies – a Letter of Intent to support the government of Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana to evolve the Living Income Differential (LID) and set up the right mechanism to support farmers living income and guarantee the sustainability of the sector.
Ferrero’s first Progress Report builds on the long-term commitments set out in the Cocoa Charter to better the livelihoods of the farmers and communities they source from, to improve children’s conditions by giving them access to education, and to protect the environment.
It illustrates with facts, figures, and stories the impact on farmers and communities of the initiatives they set out in the first Cocoa Action Plan.
“We would like to thank our suppliers and our partners including Save the Children for their strong support. Our ambition is to continue working together to have a lasting positive impact on cocoa farmers and communities,” says the company in the presentation of the report.
