Cargill’s Farmer Training Introduced in Cameroon Following Excellent Results in Côte d’Ivoire
By Cargill, PRNEMonday, July 4, 2011
WORMER, The Netherlands, July 5, 2011 -
Farmer cooperatives in Côte d’Ivoire are benefiting from average
yield improvements of nearly 50%, a 30% reduction in major pest
problems and quality improvements in bean fermentation as a result
of Cargill’s farmer training to support sustainable cocoa
production and certification. Following on from the success of
these pilot cooperatives, the training programme is being expanded
to Cameroon, the world’s fourth largest cocoa producer.
Harold Poelma managing director cocoa, Cargill Cocoa &
Chocolate, explains: “After the first year of UTZ certification,
our pilot cooperatives in Côte d’Ivoire have seen on average a 47%
increase in yields, rising from 559 to 882 kilograms per
hectare.
“As a result of the adoption of good agricultural practices
around pruning and weeding, there also has been, on average, a 30%
reduction in major pests along with major improvement in the
fermentation level of the beans and a decrease in humidity, due to
improved drying and storage after harvest. These results convince
us that we are following the right strategy in Côte d’Ivoire, and
we will now adopt this successful policy in other cocoa growing
countries where we feel we can make a real difference,”
Poelma added.
Cargill, which is the largest exporter of cocoa beans from both
Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon, has built up an extensive network and
presence on the ground in Cameroon, comparable to that in Côte
d’Ivoire, including rural buying stations and warehouse facilities.
This extensive network, and the close relationship with farmers it
brings, benefits farmers in Cameroon and their communities.
The programme of farmer training in Cameroon will be delivered
in partnership with Telcar, Cargill’s joint venture partner in
Cameroon. It is being launched in conjunction with the World Cocoa
Foundation and Socodevi, a Canada-based network of cooperative
businesses that supports farmers organizations’ initiatives in the
developing world. The programme will support the creation of a
sustainable cocoa supply chain in the country, with the aim of
achieving UTZ certification for cooperatives in 2012.
This latest expansion of farmer training, which complements that
previously announced in Vietnam, underlines Cargill’s belief that
training farmers successfully is key to building a sustainable
supply chain as well as helping increase farmers’ incomes and
supporting the future growth of cocoa farming. In addition, such
training also strengthens the governance of cooperatives and
farmers’ organisations, and helps build partnerships between these
organisations and their communities.
Providing training and support enables farmers to increase
yields, improve quality and through these - increase their
incomes. By raising awareness of environmental, health and social
issues Cargill’s programme also helps strengthen local farming
families and communities.
“In short, the training is directly benefiting farmers today and
supports them in becoming successful entrepreneurs for the longer
term,” adds Poelma.
The UTZ Certified programme began in Côte d’Ivoire in 2008, and
UTZ Certification is becoming increasingly recognised by industry
and consumers as well as in the cocoa growing countries
themselves.
“As a founder member of the UTZ Certified cocoa programme, we
are pleased to see that UTZ Certification is becoming widely
accepted across the cocoa sector, which is crucial in its objective
to make sustainable cocoa mainstream. It is a promising start to a
long-term journey towards sustainable cocoa,” concludes Poelma.
About Cargill
Cargill is an international producer and marketer of food,
agricultural, financial and industrial products and services.
Founded in 1865, the privately held company employs 131,000 people
in 66 countries.
Cargill helps customers succeed through collaboration and
innovation, and is committed to applying its global knowledge and
experience to help meet economic, environmental and social
challenges wherever it does business. For more information, visit
www.cargill.com
About Cargill Cocoa &
Chocolate
Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate offers the food industry a wide
range of both standard and customised cocoa and chocolate
ingredients to be used in delicious bakery, confectionery, and
dairy applications all over the world. Our product range includes
high quality Gerkens® cocoa powders, chocolate, coatings, fillings,
cocoa liquors and cocoa butters. With years of experience in
technical food expertise Cargill supports its customers in new
recipes and new product development. Our processing plants in
Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Côte d’Ivoire, France, Germany, Ghana, the
Netherlands, UK and the USA are fully dedicated to produce in
accordance with the highest food safety standards.
To secure a good quality and sustainable supply of cocoa beans
we have our own cocoa bean sourcing operations for buying handling
and/or exporting of cocoa beans in Brazil, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire,
Indonesia and Vietnam. Presence in all the leading producing
countries allows Cargill to oversee the supply chain from beans at
origin to cocoa and chocolate products on our customers’ doorstep.
In addition, extensive market research and analysis proves to be a
source of valuable information to our customers.
For more information visit:
About UTZ Certified Good Inside
UTZ Certified Good Inside is a sustainability program dedicated
to creating an open and transparent marketplace for agricultural
products. UTZ Certified has developed sustainability models for the
production of cocoa, coffee and tea, and offers traceability
services for palm oil. UTZ Certified’s vision is to achieve
sustainable agricultural supply chains in which farmers are trained
to be professionals. The industry takes responsibility by demanding
and sourcing sustainably grown products and consumers buy products
that meet their standard for social and environmental
responsibility.
In 2007, Cargill, Ecom Agroindustrial, Heinz Benelux, Mars,
Nestlé, Royal Ahold, Solidaridad, Oxfam Novib, WWF and UTZ
CERTIFIED founded the Good Inside cocoa program to ensure good
agricultural, environmental and social practice in cocoa
production. The first UTZ Certified cocoa and chocolate products
are now available in the market. For more information visit:
CONTACT:
Wendy Garbutt +44-1932-861-174
Floyd Jebson +44-1869-353-813
.
Tags: Cameroon, Cargill, Cote d'Ivoire, July 5, Netherlands, The Netherlands, Vietnam, Wormer
