A group, Barry Callebaut Nigeria, has kickstarted an initiative to reward and celebrate farmers who have demonstrated a high level of commitment in supporting sustainable cocoa farming.
Under the programme, Management of Barry Callebaut is giving out a premium payment worth N17 million for cocoa supplied in the 2021 and 2022 season in Ondo and Cross River states.
This significant initiative is in line with Cocoa Horizon objectives, the company’s programme aimed at improving the livelihoods of cocoa farmers and their communities through the promotion of sustainable, entrepreneurial farming, improved productivity, and community development.
Through Cocoa Horizons, Barry Calebaut continues to relate closely with local farmers on how to improve their yields, shun cocoa farming activities in protected areas and support “Zero Child Labour” programmes. Recently over 1,000 farmers were sensitized on critical issues surrounding Child Labour to let farmers know that they have a moral responsibility to stop children from working in cocoa plantations.
Managing Director of Barry Callebaut in Nigeria, Adriaan Verbeke, affirmed the company’s commitment to continue supporting cocoa farmers in every Nigerian region where families’ well-being is based on their cocoa activities.
“We are very appreciative of the farmers who have engaged in our Cocoa Horizons program and look forward to supporting them further to improve their livelihoods and their communities. We plan to extend the Cocoa Horizons program to farmers in other regions of Nigeria in the coming 2022 and 2023 season starting in October 2022. Barry Callebaut is demonstrating its long-term commitment to the Nigerian cocoa sector, its farmers and local buying agents through this program. Together we can grow the sector and improve the livelihoods of the farmers and other stakeholders in the cocoa supply chain,” he said.
The group’s initiatives of premium and farm input distribution to farmers are part of the strategy to make sustainable chocolate the norm by 2025 and help ensure future supplies of cocoa and improve farmer livelihoods. Barry Callebaut has previously trained over 1500 cocoa farmers in Akure, Ondo State and Ikom, Cross Rivers on good agricultural practices with strategic plans of measuring the impact of the training. Certificates, farm inputs – like spraying machines, rain boots, cutlasses, wheelbarrows – and many more will be given to the best farmers who excel from the training sessions.
