UTZ Certified is an independent, international non-profit organization based in The Netherlands and is one of the largest sustainability programs for coffee, cocoa and tea in the world. ‘UTZ’ means “good” in a Mayan language. It has developed sustainability programs and independent certification, working with industry partners and farming communities to help improve agricultural, environmental and social practices in crop farming.

Today, there is a demand amongst consumers for chocolate that has been sustainably produced. There is also the need to encourage more sustainable farming practices so cocoa can be grown and enjoyed for many years to come.

Cargill is strongly committed to supporting sustainable cocoa production. In 2007, we co-founded the UTZ Certified cocoa program along with Dutch development organization, Solidaridad, and other cocoa and chocolate companies.

This program is working with farmer cooperatives to improve agricultural, environmental and social practices in cocoa production. By introducing independent certification, small-scale cocoa farmers are making improvements to the way they grow cocoa and as a result are benefitting from better quality and higher yields. These are enabling farmers to increase their incomes.

Launched in Côte d'Ivoire – the world’s largest cocoa producing country – the program is already producing UTZ Certified cocoa beans and chocolate for consumers. Approximately 10 percent of the total beans we source from Côte d'Ivoire are certified as sustainable. This is set to grow as more farmer cooperatives become certified and we successfully expand the program in Vietnam and Cameroon.

Watch a video of how Cargill is training farmers in good agricultural practices and enabling them to gain independent certification.

First UTZ Certified cocoa in Vietnam. The UTZ sustainable cocoa program marked another milestone with the delivery of the first certified beans from Vietnam.

Improving yields, quality and farmer incomes

Through our farmer training activities we are reaching thousands of farmers and enabling cooperatives achieve independent UTZ certification. This training has already enabled 44 farmer cooperatives to achieve independent UTZ certification and this figure will double to 90 certified cooperatives by October 2012.

As a result of their participation, farmers are increasing their incomes. In August 2011 we made certified cocoa premium payments totaling over $2.2 million to 26,500 farmers across 21 cooperatives in Côte d'Ivoire. Over 50 percent of these payments go directly to farmers with the remainder being invested by the cooperatives to provide assistance to members and to build local community facilities.

Farmers are also benefitting from significant improvements to their yields, bean quality and pest control. On average those participating in Côte d'Ivoire have seen average yield improvements of nearly 50 percent, as well as a 30 percent reduction in major pest problems. The adoption of better drying and storage is also improving the quality of beans.