Harold Poelma (Cargill), managers of certified co-ops, and Daan de Vries, cocoa program manager, celebrate delivery of first UTZ CERTIFIED cocoa beans.

With the first delivery of UTZ CERTIFIED cocoa beans, we celebrate a milestone for sustainable cocoa production. The beans were produced by the first farmer co-operatives in Côte d'Ivoire to be certified under the UTZ CERTIFIED cocoa sustainability program. The program encourages improvements in agricultural, social and environmental practices in cocoa production. 

Improving farming practices and increasing incomes

The first sustainable cocoa beans are the result of an intensive eight month program which trained 1,590 farmers in responsible and sustainable agriculture practices. The program built on almost a decade of Cargill efforts with cocoa farmers in West Africa to improve cocoa bean quality and yields, and to help increase farmers’ incomes.

As Harold Poelma of Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate explains, "this program endorses our belief in the importance of sustainable agricultural practices and through the training we are helping increase farmers' productivity by at least 30 percent." 

Cargill has 12 other farmer co-operatives moving towards certification and we expect the 150 farmer training programs currently underway to rise to 300 next year. As these co-operatives become certified they will contribute to the anticipated target of 10,000 tons of UTZ CERTIFIED beans in 2010.

“A better price for a better product”

The cocoa sustainability program was established in partnership with UTZ CERTIFIED – an independent non-profit organization specializing in sustainability – with the aim to improve agricultural, social and environmental practices in cocoa production. It enables small-scale farmers to improve their farming practices, thereby producing a higher quality crop with increased productivity.

Farmers benefit from a higher income based on the principle "a better price for a better product" and participants throughout the supply chain can demonstrate their commitment to responsible sourcing of sustainably produced cocoa. The sustainability certifications are awarded to farmer co-operatives on an annual basis following the completion of independent audits.