Practise what you preach

29 June 2012 – At the recent Chocovision conference it was noted that many young potential cocoa farmers are moving away from the industry to improve their income. This is obviously a massive problem for the industry, one which Barry Callebaut is helping to address. The company is establishing a centre of cocoa excellence in Côte d’Ivoire.

Barry Callebaut will  test different approaches for growing cocoa with other crops. The company is building on its prior experience with intercropping of compatible plants to improve productivity and biodiversity.

Some of the crops that will be planted alongside cocoa trees include: plantain, coconut, mango, pineapple, beans and maize, as well as rubber and others. Shade trees will also be planted.

In addition to the environmental benefits, planting other food crops and trees together with cocoa also directly benefits farmers and their families by providing variety to the family diet as well as creating additional sources of income to complement the earnings from cocoa.

Hopefully, other companies who attended the conference will follow Barry Callebaut’s good example, and rather than just talking about issues affecting the industry, actually putting some plans into action.
“