Entry by: Catherine Alston, World Cocoa Foundation

On Wednesday, February 3 I had the honor and pleasure of accompanying many distinguished guests in Abidjan at a program launch ceremony for the Cocoa Livelihoods Program (CLP). First announced last year, the CLP is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 14 chocolate industry companies.

Mbalo Ndiaye, our Program Director, gave an overview of the program and specific activities for Côte d’Ivoire to the some 100 attendees at the program launch. He identified that this program is focused on building the income of cocoa-farming households and seeks to ensure that farmers utilize sustainable cocoa-growing practices. A total of 75,000 cocoa farmers and 24 Farmer Organizations in Côte d’Ivoire will benefit from this program. In the course of its implementation, CLP will build local service capacity.

Mbalo also announced that the CNRA, the national research institution, has been awarded a grant through the CLP to pilot a new innovative technology that will improve the production of cocoa farms.

The President of the Coffee-Cocoa Sector Management Committee (CGFCC) commended the World Cocoa Foundation for its many years of committed service to improve the conditions and the lives of cocoa farmers and their communities and thanked the leadership for bringing this collaborative program to his country. In his closing remarks he announced that the Committee will be in full support of the program and will continue to work with the World Cocoa Foundation to ensure its success.

The Minister of Agriculture also attended the ceremony and presented his encouragement for the program and invited the CLP to create a synergy with the government’s 2QC program to improve production and quality of cocoa. In his closing statements, the Minister officially launched the program.