The global chocolate and cocoa industry is launching a region-wide action program to promote responsible labor and sustainable farming practices in West African cocoa growing, in partnership with African governments, the International Labor Organization (ILO), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the United States Department of Labor, leading non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and local farmer organizations.
The launch of the action program follows an international meeting in Accra, Ghana, attended by more than 150 stakeholders engaged in improving the well being of cocoa farming families and workers throughout West Africa.The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the Government of Ghana, USAID and the global chocolate/cocoa industry sponsored the conference.
The region-wide program is the next step in more than 12 months' work by a broad international alliance of industry, governments, leading experts on labor and agricultural issues, activists, consumer coalitions and other stakeholders. In late 2001, the industry signed an International Protocol to ensure that cocoa is grown without abusive child or forced labor.
"This action program will touch the lives of tens of thousands of cocoa farming families, while creating permanent, positive change in their communities," said John Rowsome, president of the Confectionery Manufacturers Association of Canada (CMAC) and a participant in the Ghana conference."Working closely with our partners, we are focusing our resources on where they will do the greatest good - on the ground, at the individual farm level."
To promote responsible cocoa farming, the pilot programs will directly address labor practices on cocoa farms while seeking to improve the overall well being of the cocoa farming community.While varied and holistic in approach, the pilot programs are broadly grouped into two categories
For additional information on this subject, please visit the Chocolate Manufacturers Association's Web site.