Strengthening child protection systems of cocoa cooperatives in Côte d'Ivoire

This project takes place in the Ivory Coast, the largest cocoa producing country in the world with an estimated 800,000 cocoa smallholder farmers. For several decades the topic of child labour has been on the radar in the cocoa industry. Research was implemented and a diversity of approaches to tackle this problem have been developed. Despite efforts made so far it remains a systemic challenge to be solved. Data varies, but to give an indication; a recent report (NORC, 2020) states that ca 790,000 children were engaged in child labour in the Ivorian cocoa production during the 2018/2019 cocoa season. Being aware of the challenges related to potential child labour, the project partners see this project as an opportunity to increase our positive impact in our supply chain, together with local stakeholders.

Their focus is on four cocoa cooperatives which are highly committed to address potential child labour among their member cocoa farmers. They are located in four cocoa producing regions: Sassandra, Lakota, Aboisso and San Pedro, covering more than 50 villages and 2,289 cocoa farmers.
The cooperatives are very diverse and selected based on several factors, among which the results of our risk assessment and their strong motivation to be part of this project. The cooperatives are also very different in terms of number of members, systems and activities in place to address potential child labour, medium and high intensity of the cocoa production areas, certification status and reported cases of child labour so far.
During the first phase of the project, the project partners research the occurrence and causes of child labour among the specific cooperatives. This local impact assessment will give in-depth insights into the current situation and serve as a starting point for a second project to design and carry out effective downsizing measures of child labour within the supply chain.
The project approach is based on strengthening the collaboration with relevant public and private stakeholders in order to increase our impact together. Hereby, the project partners have a bottom-up approach whereby our focus is on understanding and listening to the farmers and cooperatives involved. Being aware that poverty is one of the root causes for child labour, the topic household income and income surveys will be an important element of this project.

The ultimate goal is for the project partners to play their role in ensuring that the cocoa supply chain will become truly sustainable, for all actors in the supply chain, most importantly the cocoa farmers.