CFI cocoa venture claims progress fighting deforestation, despite key setbacks in Ivory Coast

The Cocoa and Forests Initiative (CFI), consisting of cocoa and chocolate major players working with West African governments, has claimed progress in addressing industry-linked deforestation, though acknowledge Ivory Coast in particular faces ongoing heavy rates of forest loss in spite of its efforts, reports Neill Barston.

According to the joint venture, which has been signed by a total of 36 cocoa and chocolate companies including the likes of Barry Callebaut, Cemoi, Nestle, General Mills, Cargill, Lindt, Puratos, Hershey and Olam, the voluntary cooperative project, which began in 2017, last year entered its second phase in a bid to drive enhanced environmental standards of operating within the sector.

However, as campaign groups such as Mighty Earth have highlighted, levels of deforestation across Ghana and Ivory Coast have remained troubling, with around two thirds of the two nations’ forested areas have been lost due to cocoa farming over the past four decades, with the situation worsened by persistent problems of illegal, small-scale gold mining operations. These have been widely reported in the region as a significant challenge to sustainability efforts, with authorities issuing campaigns targeting agricultural communities warning them not to offer-up land to such illegitimate land-use.

Consequently, as Confectionery Production has reported, many industry observers have welcomed the upcoming due diligence legislation for the EU regarding imports of a number of crops including cocoa, that place mandatory requirements on environmental traceability and performance levels, compared to the present voluntary system that lacks powers of enforcement for any identified transgressions.

Despite such setbacks, the CFI has claimed an upturn in traceability achieved by companies participating with the scheme, and in 2022, they reported that 85% of their direct cocoa supply is now traceable down to the plot level. This represents an 18% increase in direct supply traceability compared to 2021, demonstrating the ongoing commitment of the CFI partners to transparency and sustainability.

For its part, the World Cocoa Foundation (WCFI), whose membership includes many of the largest cocoa and chocolate groups in the world, explained that CFI 2.0 needed to be scaled-up urgently to meet the demands of tackling deforestation that has been clearly linked to the sector.

Chris Vincent, president of the WCF said: “World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) recognises the urgent need to accelerate and scale impact towards zero-deforestation. Our organization wholeheartedly supports the CFI and is pleased that both private sector and governments who have now recommitted to CFI 2.0 with collective action and co-investment a priority for the 2022-2025 period. This commitment aligns with the goals of the Paris Agreement, EU Deforestation Regulation, and other global frameworks aimed at curbing deforestation emissions and mitigating the climate crisis.”

Making headway
In its analysis of progress made, Ghana Forest Compliance data showed that of the 17,676 hectares of forest lost in CFI’s six priority areas in Ghana, 13.2% was attributed to cocoa production. Importantly, deforestation caused by cocoa production in the country remained stable compared to previous years.

However, it expressed concern at the picture in Ivory Coast, describing ‘volatile trends of deforestation’ that revealed despite forest loss reducing in deforestation in 2021, in 2022 it witnessed an increase, resulting in the loss of more than 60,000 hectares of forest, though a full study of how much was attributed to cocoa farming has yet to be concluded.

Moving forward, landscape approaches will be central to CFI’s interventions, aligning with the ambition to foster collective action. In Ghana, partners in the Asunafo landscape have collaboratively developed a land use management plan. In Côte d’Ivoire, Yapo-Abbé and Bossématié have been identified as priority landscapes for focused efforts. These initiatives closely align with the respective government policies and programmes.

In Ivory Coast, the Ministry of Water and Forests (MINEF) deepened its collaboration with CFI companies in 2022, showing the commitment of public and private stakeholders to the initiative. The Conseil du Café-Cacao in 2022 embarked on a mission to plant 4 million trees as part of its broader goal to plant 60 million trees by 2028. Simultaneously, the Green Ghana project, led by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources (MLNR) , oversaw the distribution of 26.6 million trees.

Across both nations, national traceability systems entered the piloting phase and drafted the national guidelines for the African Regional Standard for Sustainable Cocoa. These policy developments, combined with the EU Deforestation Regulation, are poised to strengthen the voluntary commitments of CFI, driving further progress towards a shared vision of a deforestation-free cocoa industry.

As the combined businesses and organisations behind the CFI noted, the industry remains dedicated to fostering sustainable practices in the cocoa sector. With collaborative efforts between governments, industry, and local communities, we are poised to make lasting changes in preserving our precious forests and ensuring the sustainable longevity of cocoa production.

“As we all acknowledge deforestation and forest degradation as a common enemy to sustainable forest management, we must remain resolute under the CFI umbrella and invest resources to ensure that the principal objective of halting deforestation and forest degradation in the cocoa supply chain is achieved in the long term.” Samuel A. Jinapor, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Ghana.

Meanwhile, in Ivory Coast, Laurent Tchagba, Minister of Water and Forests, believed the scheme had made headway for the better. He said: “The CFI action plan for the 2022-2025 period aims to consolidate the achievements of the pilot phase and to increase the impact of the actions initiated. Particular emphasis will be placed on the operationalisation of the National Cocoa Traceability System and the National Forest Monitoring and Deforestation Early Warning System. These instruments are necessary to meet the requirements of the European Union Deforestation Regulation. Signatories to the Joint Framework for Action should therefore intensify the mobilisation of the financial resources required for the successful implementation of CFI.”

For its part, the IDH, Dutch sustainable cocoa organisation, also welcomed the progress made over the past six years. Its CEO Daan Wensing described the initiative as a ‘strong partnership that continues to facilitate public-private collaboration in a sector under high pressure.”

However, he added that there was a recognition that further gains needed to be made against a backdrop of increasing deforestation in the region. This, in his view needed to be tackled head on through mobilisation of greater collective resources across public-private partnerships to deliver positive results.