change that. Together with stakeholders from across the cocoa sector, experts from multiple organisations have been collaborating to develop a comprehensive methodology for assessing both cocoa household income and living incomes. Going forward everyone across the
sector in all cocoa-growing countries will be able to use this approach as they collect data about cocoa farmer income. “This harmonisation allows us to monitor progress at a larger scale because results between different studies are comparable, and thus we can better understand the impacts of interventions aimed at increasing farming household incomes,” says Selma van der Haar, Advisor Impact Economics at KIT.
One of the biggest challenges to
completing the methodology was the range of ways that organisations gather data on incomes today. Some organisations use meaningful proxies with limited yearly data while others use much more intensive and frequent methods, such as the Farmer Field Book by Agri-Logic. And across that spectrum of approaches, there are gaps.
The new methodology accounts for sharecropping and other land- and crop- sharing arrangements in all geographical contexts which is for many stakeholders a new way to collect information. It provides guidelines on how to reach farmers that have been previously invisible in living income assessments. Besides sharecroppers, it includes women, youth and also farming households that are part of indirect supply chains.” The methodology includes step-by-step guidance on how to measure each of the underlying indicators related to income that includes cocoa production costs and non- cocoa income, as well as a questionnaire that will make it easier to compare results across studies going forward. “This new methodology is designed to determine the living income status of cocoa farming households and the impact of sustainability interventions on household incomes,” explains Peter Koegler, Vice President, Programmes at WCF. “These two elements are essential to defining and aligning stakeholders’ efforts around the interventions that are most effective. We believe that the new methodology for
measuring cocoa farmer household income can serve as a strong standard for the sector.” There is still a large productivity gap
between the typical yields of cocoa farmers in West Africa) and the potential yield, which could be three to four times that under optimal conditions, according to WCF. “Our member companies, researchers and implementing partners have been pioneering approaches to scale up efforts in boosting the income of cocoa growers,” continues Peter. “These include payments for ecosystem services for essential pre- harvest activities such as pruning, which has been shown to have a positive impact on yields, planting of agroforestry plants and shade trees, or income diversification through other crops and businesses. “Cocoa production in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana has seen a decline in yield, due to the uncontrolled spread of the Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease (CSSVD), ageing trees and unfavourable weather conditions. Although climate change and price volatility bring additional challenges to meeting current and future cocoa supplies, we support interventions that can
Despite public commitments, chocolate companies have not taken on the responsibility to maintain country differentials beside paying the Living Income Differential”
KennedysConfection.com Kennedy’s Confection June 2024 21
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