Exclusive: Cargill continues support for cocoa communities, as it marks World Water Day

Cargill has revealed progress on its key work supporting cocoa communities in West Africa, and on World Water Day, it has underlined a commitment to initiatives tackling the ongoing crisis of water scarcity, writes Neill Barston.

As Confectionery Production has previously covered, the key regional African countries that form the bulk of the supply chain for the industry have faced significant challenges beyond tackling the Covid-19 pandemic, including major increases in vital crop fertilisers, as well as comparatively low prices gained for their harvests in recent years.

This in combination with other significant factors – including the long-term issue of insufficient access to basic requirements of clean water sources, has placed a renewed strain, adding to the costs of living crisis that is affecting communities on a global scale.

The issue has continued to be raised by many organisations, including Fairtrade, which has continued its practice of paying additional premiums for cocoa supplies in West Africa in a bid to drive further progress towards a living wage.

For its part Cargill has engaged with the Global Water Challenge over the past two years order to help accelerate clean water access and empower the sector’s farming communities in the region.

As the company noted, water scarcity remains a global issue, with shortages affecting more than 40% of the world’s population. According to many climate analysts, expanding populations and the impact of global warming means that this will be an issue for the foreseeable future.

This led to Cargill teaming up with the Global Water Challenge (GWC) to launch a multi-year community water initiative aimed at improving safe drinking water access to communities in priority watersheds.

“Water-related issues are often an entry point that enables us to address multiple concerns. When people have trouble accessing clean water, everything else becomes a challenge, including economic activity, staying healthy, raising children and growing and cooking food,” says Kate Clancy, group sustainability director of the cocoa & chocolate supply chain.

She added that water duty is hard work, and in many households, it falls mostly on women’ shoulders. When water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) issues are addressed, communities, especially women and girls, are given back time to pursue their work, generate or increase their income and, most importantly, their education.

Community action
Just one example of this is the story of Obaa, a 12-year-old student at the Sukusuku D/A basic school in Sefwi Bekwai, Ghana. “There were instances where water ran out during lessons, and we had to stop learning so we could get water for use in the school,” she said.

“This was affecting our studies as we missed classes to fetch water, and often found ourselves behind because we had missed important parts of the lessons. This was very discouraging, and I sometimes lost interest in going to school.” Thanks to the collaboration between Cargill, Global Water Challenge and World Vision, a new well on Obaa’s school grounds was installed, allowing young women to concentrate on their studies and not worry about fetching water and missing classes.

“Obaa’s story is an example of how the benefits of one seemingly isolated action can ripple through a community. Our goal isn’t limited to water access as we are building community resilience, improving community health and promoting women’s economic development. That’s why we strive to bring together everyone involved in driving progress for the sector. Creating lasting change means connecting the dots,” says Kate.

As she added, this forms part of the Cargill’s Cocoa Promise, the company’s sustainability programme for the cocoa supply chain. Cargill is committed to ensuring a thriving, sustainable cocoa sector for generations to come and the partnership with GWC is a key element of that commitment.

“In partnership with Cargill, Global Water Challenge and women for water platform can drive positive change that addresses the needs and water context of the communities where we are working. Through our partner network around the world, we have identified partnership opportunities with public, private, and civil society stakeholders to increase access to safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene and empowerment.

Together, we are transforming water-challenged communities while empowering women, building community resilience, and promoting economic development,” said Monica Ellis, CEO of Global Water Challenge. When Cargill’s collaboration with GWC began in 2021, it set out to improve water access for up to 150,000 people in priority watersheds, including cocoa-growing regions in Ghana, Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire.

So far, it has reached 14 cocoa-farming communities in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, improving access to safe drinking water for more than 13,500 people in those communities. “But our goal isn’t limited to water access as we are building community resilience, improving community health and promoting women’s economic development.

Clancy added: “More than 5,000 women in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire communities have been empowered by activities and programs implemented with GWC, and additionally, more than 6,000 women now have access to safe drinking water closer to their homes, giving them more time to pursue more productive opportunities.

“The theme of this year’s World Water Day is ‘accelerating change’ and that’s how we see our work. We strive to help connect the dots, contribute resources and be the catalyst that helps precipitate progress, because when you get on the ground, listen, learn, and work hard, a trickle of positive change can become a stream, and that stream is what helps communities and young girls like Obaa thrive.”

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