Africa-Press – Ghana. An income accelerator programme, which aims at supporting cocoa farmers in Ghana and Cote d’Iviore, in their transition to more sustainable cocoa farming has been outdoored.
The initiative will also help tackle child labour, with cash incentives paid to cocoa-farming households for certain activities, including enrolment of children between the ages of six to 16 in school.
The cash payment is also to encourage good agricultural practices such as planting shade trees and pruning. The programme is being piloted in Cote d’Iviore and will be fully implemented in Ghana in the year 2024.
Mr Mark Schneider, the Chief Executive Officer of Nestlé, who launched the initiative said it was the Company’s new approach to reward cocoa farmers and their families not only for the quantity and quality of cocoa beans but also for the benefits they provided to the environment and local communities.
He stated that the incentives would be an addition to the premium introduced by the governments of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana that Nestlé paid, and the premiums Nestlé offered for certified cocoa.
Mr Schneider noted that cocoa-farming communities faced immense challenges, including widespread rural poverty, increasing climate risks and a lack of access to financial services and basic infrastructure like water, health care and education. These complex factors, he said, contributed to the risk of child labour on family farms.
“Our goal is to have an additional tangible, positive impact on a growing number of cocoa-farming families, especially in areas where poverty is widespread and resources are scarce, and to help close the living income gap they face over time,” he said.
“Building on our longstanding efforts to source cocoa sustainably, we will continue to help children go to school, empower women, improve farming methods and facilitate financial resources. We believe that, together with governments, NGOs and others in the cocoa industry, we can help improve the lives of cocoa-farming families and give children the chance to learn and grow in the safe and healthy environment they deserve.”
Mr Magdi Batato, the Executive Vice President and Head of Operations of Nestle, said the programme rewarded practices that increased crop productivity and helped secure additional sources of income, which aimed to close the gap to living income and help protect children. He stressed that by practicing the tenets of the programme, families could additionally earn up to CHF 500 annually for the first two years.
“It (incentive) is not paid based on the volume of cocoa sold and is inclusive to provide smaller farmers meaningful support, leaving no one behind. In a departure from normal practice, the programme also offers financial incentives for the farmer’s spouse, who is typically responsible for household expenses and childcare.”
Mr Batato said by dividing the payments between the farmer and the spouse, the programme would help empower women and improve gender equality. Payments, he said would be delivered via a secure mobile service transfer that would ensure traceability directly from Nestlé suppliers to the intended recipient.
“Because cash flow throughout the year is often a challenge, cash incentives will be distributed when they are needed most based on feedback from farmers. This includes the back-to-school period and before the rainy season,” he said.
The income accelerator programme builds on Nestle’s longstanding efforts to tackle child labour risks in cocoa production. The Company has invested in sustainability through
the Nestlé Cocoa Plan since 2009. Through a robust monitoring and remediation system instituted since 2012, 149,443 children have been assisted to protect them against the risk of child labour, and 53 schools have been built or refurbished. This system is now the industry standard by, which companies monitor their supply chains.
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