Description
Ray Major, RAMajor LLC. Presented at the 2019 conference
A well-loved commodity with significant economic importance for both producing and consuming countries, cocoa is grown across the tropical belt by millions of smallholder farmers, mostly in West Africa, who depend on the cash crop. Today, their livelihoods are threatened by the effects of climate change and deforestation. Poor farmers are often caught in a vicious circle of deteriorating productivity and encroachment into the remaining forested areas to maintain cocoa production. How can the global cocoa and chocolate supply chain, which is at the same time highly concentrated and complex, with numerous production steps and stakeholders involved, work hand-in-hand with producing countries and farmers to solve these issues? This presentation will describe the most compelling environmental risks for the sector – climate change and deforestation – and why true sustainability can only be achieved through collective action. It will also cover current joint initiatives and the collective commitments that are shaping the global cocoa and chocolate supply chain.
