Hershey and Sucden combine to support Ivory Coast cocoa farmers - Confectionery Production

Tricia Brannigan signs MOU on behalf of The Hershey Company with Sucden and nine cooperatives

Posted: 28 October 2024

Related topics: cocoa, confectionery, France, Ivory Coast, supply chains, US

Related regions: Ivory Coast, US, worldwide

US-headquartered confectionery group Hershey has made a significant move for a deal enhancing support for nine cocoa co-operatives in Ivory Coast, including farmer training and community support measures, reports Neill Barston.

As the company revealed, its strategy, is part of a ten-year $500 million investment by the company to address the major challenges facing cocoa farmers – amid a backdrop of ongoing issues of child labour, as well as farmer pay remaining at below poverty levels and climate change negatively impacting crop yields significantly.

According to Hershey, its latest initiative, working alongside cocoa group Sucden, aims to build longer-term relationships with core farming communities, and to enable them to become more resilient, as the sector faces some of its biggest-ever tests.

As Confectionery Production has reported, earlier this year in April, cocoa prices rose to major highs of $12,000 a tonne, which have now retreated to around $7,000 on commodities markets in light of supply deficit brought about by the combined factors of adverse weather, financial hardship of farmers and wider supply chain logistics conditions, persistent cocoa smuggling as well as environmental factors including deforestation.

Notably, as previously reported, around 80% of primary forest areas in Ghana and Ivory Coast have been lost due to industrial activity including cocoa farming.

At the heart of the agreement is a memorandum of understanding between Hershey, Sucden, and the nine cooperatives which the company said sought to partner with farmer to further professionalise cocoa farming and improve profitability.

Furthermore, the scheme has also aimed to enhance household wellbeing, preserve the environment and strengthen production resilience.

As the company expressed, it is hoped that the interactions between Hershey, Sucden and co-operatives will yield positive results, and assist in dealing with long-term structural challenges for the region that are linked to the widespread poverty that has remained the core underlying issue facing workers in the cocoa sector.

Notably, the initiative is considered part of ongoing investment being made into cocoa communities in the region, including its $40 million Income Accelerator venture that was launched in 2023.

Furthermore, as the business concluded, it is also funding construction of primary schools in farming communities, through an agreement with the National Oversight Committee for Actions to Fight Child Labor, Trafficking and Exploitation and the International Cocoa Initiative.

Tricia Brannigan, Vice President, Chief Procurement Officer for Hershey, said: “Improving farmer incomes requires a holistic approach and collaboration across public and private sectors. Collaboration happens best when you have trust. Trust is built over time through strong, long-lasting relationships.”