The global Fairtrade organisation has welcomed an initiative by the governments of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana to raise the farm gate price of cocoa to $1,820 per tonne for all farmers.
According to the group, the move represents a real opportunity to drive change at scale for farmers in the two countries, which together produce more than 60% of the world’s cocoa supply and who have been hit hard by a collapse in cocoa prices in 2017.
As Fairtrade noted, it has publicly supported the governments’ implementation of the Living Income Differential, the additional sum to be paid per each tonne of cocoa that ensures the practical increase of the price that is paid to farmers. And we have already adapted our Fairtrade standard to recognise the Living Income Differential in support of governments’ target for a farm gate price of $1,820 per tonne.
In this context, Fairtrade welcomes the clear call to action for the cocoa industry made by the governments of Cote D’Ivoire and Ghana at the World Cocoa Forum in Berlin on October 23rd. After announcing a review of all certification and sustainability schemes, the governments’ ask that prioritise paying the Living Income Differential is a priority ahead of any own sustainability programme is clear.
In addition to the public support for the Living Income Differential, Fairtrade has already taken additional significant measures to increase the amount cocoa farmers earn, recognising, as the governments do, the need for improved livelihoods. As the only certification scheme to have publicly campaigned for farmers’ right to a living income, Fairtrade is committed to continue to work alongside the governments to make this a reality.
Fairtade added that it believed the key to arriving a solution for the sector lies in a decent price for farmers operating in democratically run cooperatives forms the basis on which other sustainability goals can be achieved, and that the Living Income Differential and Fairtrade certification are complementary.
