Deforestation-free cocoa: Will producers in the Ivory Coast pay the price for sustainability?

euronews (in English)

Euronews travels to Adzopé in the Ivory Coast to learn how a cooperative boasting more than 3,000 members has become a pioneer in fair trade and traceable cocoa.

Transcript

00:00 We're in Azobe, a small town that gave its name to a chocolate.

00:04 A cooperative here is a pioneer in fair trade and traceable cocoa.

00:08 The standards apply to everyone, so we don't take producers who have deforested or who are in protected areas.

00:25 With climate change here in Africa, the temperatures are high, there's no rain.

00:29 We had anticipated this even before these rules arrived.

00:32 We're already putting in shade tree nurseries.

00:35 Here we grow shade trees. These fruit and forest trees are distributed to producers.

00:46 They help the cacao trees grow. We've seen that in recent years we've had too much sun.

00:56 And the cacao trees can't produce anymore.

00:59 We've proved that planting these trees supports them.

01:03 And much more, the leaves that fall to the ground improve the soil, acting like fertilizer.

01:10 We're also planting fruit trees, which give them other sources of income.

01:21 At a cooperative level, we employ around 20 young people to carry out plantation inspections, followed by coaching.

01:28 We've managed to put in place measures to protect the environment.

01:34 But it's not easy for all the cooperatives in the Ivory Coast.

01:38 So if we want to keep the few producers who still want to continue cacao farming,

01:46 we're going to have to buy cacao at a truly lucrative price. Each of us has a responsibility.

01:51 We need to define the duties of the chocolate maker, the exporter and finally the producers.

01:58 Everyone needs to be clear about what they have to do.

02:00 It's all very well to save the planet, but we also have to save the people who live here.

02:05 [Music]

02:08 [Music]

02:13 (bells chiming)

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