PRETORIA - The Italian manufacturer of branded chocolate and confectionery products Ferrero has reported significant progress in its plan to protect and restore forests in the Ivory Coast and Ghana cocoa sector.
Ferrero said this is part of the Cocoa & Forest Initiative (CFI), a partnership between the two countries’ governments and the cocoa and chocolate industry to contribute towards ending deforestation in the cocoa sector.
“We can say with confidence that we are on track and even ahead of schedule to reach our CFI targets for 2022. For over 30% of our CFI indicators we are already close to reaching or have even exceeded our defined goals for 2022,” the company said in statement.
"This strong progress was possible due to the trusted partnership we have built with our suppliers over many years. We will even increase the targets where needed to continue delivering on ambitious goals."
According to the company’s published report, in the first year Ferrero has mapped over 140,000 cocoa farms in total in both countries. This has enabled them to progress with their approach of sourcing certified, mapped and traceable cocoa.
They have developed more than 15,000 hectares of cocoa agroforestry and distributed about 500,000 multipurpose trees to farmers to plant on their farms.
In addition, they have trained more than 90,000 farmers and organisations in good agricultural practices and over 32,000 farmers in the Climate Smart Cocoa programme.
“We are proud of our performance in the first year. It energises us to continue with the same dedication to make sure that we meaningfully contribute to this collective initiative and to the common goal of ending deforestation in the cocoa sector,” the company added.
The company said its target is that by end of this year all the cocoa in its supply chain will come from sustainable sources, and to have all farmers supplying them with cocoa beans polygon-mapped. The manufacturer also aims to have all cocoa beans from both countries segregated.
"These milestones enable us to not buy any cocoa beans from protected areas and to support farmers in a targeted way to adopt agricultural practices that are good for their livelihood and for the environment," said the manufacturer.
“With the Cocoa & Forest Initiative we are bringing meaningful and lasting change into the cocoa sector. As Ferrero, we are very proud to contribute to this collective initiative and it is in line with our commitments and values as a family company. Moving forward, Ferrero will continue working to strengthen its cocoa sustainability programme with a positive and lasting impact on the cocoa value chain,” said the chief procurement and hazelnut company officer at Ferrero Marco Gonçalves.