LONDON CHOCOLATE FORUM REVIEW 2026


FAIRTRADE CALLS FOR DEEPER, LONGER-TERM COMMITMENTS TO COCOA FARMERS


Dr Jason Archie-Acheampong, Head of Market Based Solutions at the Fairtrade Foundation, urged the chocolate industry to move beyond short-term sustainability interventions at the London Chocolate Forum 2026, arguing that the future of cocoa depends on sustained investment and shared responsibility across the supply chain.


C


ocoa farming cannot be secured through a succession of short-term interventions. For Dr Jason Archie- Acheampong, Head of Market Based


Solutions at the Fairtrade Foundation, the industry must rethink the length and nature of its commitments to producers if it wants to build resilience, improve farmer livelihoods and protect the future of cocoa supply. Addressing delegates at the London Chocolate


Forum 2026, Jason argued that investment needs to extend beyond individual buying seasons, with retailers, manufacturers, traders and producer organisations working together on longer-term sourcing relationships. “They need that commitment to extend


beyond just one buying season. It needs to extend three years, four years, five years, beyond that,” he said. Jason brought a personal perspective to


the discussion, sharing the experience of his family in Ghana’s Ashanti region, where his grandfather farmed cocoa. While his father moved to the UK in the 1970s, his uncle remained in Ghana and eventually took over the family’s cocoa farm. During a visit, Jason recalled discussing the difficulties of making a living from the business. A few years later, his uncle told him he had left cocoa farming because it was no longer financially viable. “He had about four acres of land, but there


was just no money in it,” Jason explained. The experience illustrated a wider problem facing cocoa-growing communities:


farmers


are expected to maintain production, invest in their farms and respond to climate change, ageing trees and crop disease, often without


FARMERS JUST AREN’T BEING PAID ENOUGH. THEY DO NOT GET PAID ENOUGH FOR THE


COCOA THAT THEY GROW, AND THEREFORE THEY HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO INVEST


sufficient income to fund those improvements. Meanwhile, rising compliance requirements and sustainability expectations can add further costs, with the burden frequently falling on producers. Fairtrade’s response combines a minimum


price, a premium that provides additional investment for producer communities, standards and on-the-ground support through its producer networks. Jason also highlighted the organisation’s advocacy work, which seeks to represent farmers’ interests in markets and policy discussions. However, he stressed that certification and individual interventions cannot resolve the sector’s structural problems alone. The challenge is to make longer-term sourcing commitments a standard commercial practice, supported by viable pricing, shared investment


and responsible purchasing arrangements. Jason pointed to the partnership between


Marks & Spencer and cocoa cooperative Yeyasso as an example of how businesses can work more closely across the supply chain. The collaboration brings together the retailer, processors and other supply-chain partners to identify opportunities for sustained investment and greater impact. Its work includes support for agroforestry, tree nurseries and income diversification, helping farmers develop resilience beyond their immediate cocoa harvests. He also highlighted longer-term


programmes involving Ben & Jerry’s and cocoa-growing communities in Côte d’Ivoire, alongside


collaborative work involving


Fairtrade, Mars and ECOOKIM. One five-year initiative included a commitment to source on Fairtrade terms and a $2m financing facility to support farmer AND community- level activities' According to Jason, around 5,000 farmers had been engaged through the programme. These examples, he cautioned, do not mean the industry has solved the problem. Rather, they demonstrate what becomes possible when businesses connect sustainability ambitions with commercial decisions and commit to working with producers over time. During the question-and-answer session, also challenged Fairtrade on


delegates


persistent farmer poverty, certification models and the distinction between mass- balance and segregated sourcing. Jason acknowledged that certification is not the sole answer, emphasising the need for broader collaboration across businesses, civil society and regulators. Ultimately, he returned to the fundamental issue of farm income: farmers cannot invest in resilience if they are not paid enough for the cocoa they grow. For Jason, securing cocoa’s future means


treating farmers as essential partners in the industry rather than simply suppliers expected to absorb its risks. “If we’re really going to secure the future of cocoa, then the desire and awareness to invest in the long term in farmers is


OCTOBER 2026 • KENNEDY’S CONFECTION • 17


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