Cargill teams up with Nestlé for major scheme supporting Indonesian cocoa farmers
The US-headquartered Cargill group has agreed a major new partnership with Nestlé as an extension of the Swiss company’s cocoa plan, in order to benefit farmers working in the sector within Sulawesi, Indonesia, writes Neill Barston.
With both businesses having a strong focus on sustainability within their operations, the latest joint venture aims to have a notable impact in a region that has been notably affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
As reported to the Jakarta Post, Indonesia, which is the sixth largest cocoa producing nation in the world, was anticipated to have suffered a year-on-year production dip of 20,000 tonnes, to 200,000 tonnes, between 2019-2020, according to ICCO figures.
Under the Nestlé Cocoa Plan (NCP), initial work will begin with 2,000 farmers, including a series of activities under three key NCP pillars – Better Farming, where farmers will receive GAP (good agricultural practices) coaching, support for cocoa tree replanting and shade tree planting, and access to farm inputs; Better Lives, which will broaden its child monitoring and remediation systems (CLMRS) to more cocoa farming households. This will be done with NGO Save the Children; and Better Cocoa where Cargill will ensure the full transparency of cocoa supplied to Nestlé from Indonesia, using digital tools with certified farmers and suppliers, that facilitate supply chain traceability.
“Asia is one of the fastest-growing regions for chocolate globally and this has opened up opportunities for Indonesia to respond as the most prominent Asian producer. The country is already a key cocoa sourcing origin and processing location for Cargill’s products in the region,” said Francesca Kleemans, managing director for Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate Asia Pacific, with its work on the project being carried out as an extension of its commitment to its cocoa promise sustainability initiatives.
“Cargill and Nestlé have long shared a close working relationship and a vision to support the long-term, holistic development of cocoa farming communities. With this sustainability-focused partnership, we look forward to the impact our joint efforts will make in improving the livelihoods of thousands of households, and revitalise Indonesia’s global standing as a leading cocoa origination market.”
“We are delighted to work together with Cargill to expand the implementation of the Nestlé Cocoa Plan in Indonesia. Collaboration with our suppliers is key to improve the sustainability of the cocoa sector and the lives of cocoa farmers. This is part of our commitment to source 100% of our cocoa within the Nestlé Cocoa Plan by 2025,” said Darrell High, Global Nestlé Cocoa Plan Manager.
The Nestlé Cocoa Plan program in Indonesia builds on existing Nestlé Cocoa Plan partnerships between Cargill and Nestlé in other major cocoa sourcing markets of Ivory Coast and Cameroon which reach approximately 15,000 farming households with a full range of programming including farmer coaching, service delivery models, environmental protection, community support and CLMRS.
