HRM Oba Dokun Thompson set to join World Confectionery Conference Q&A
Their Majesties Oba (King) Dokun and Queen Angelique-Monet Thompson will be at our World Confectionery Conference. Pic: Oba Dokun Thompson
Our upcoming edition of the World Confectionery Conference in Brussels will be joined by a strong range of guests for its centrepiece sustainability Q&A, including HRM Oba Dokun Thompson, a traditional Nigerian ruler and cocoa sector expert, writes Neill Barston.
Among his industry experiences, the monarch of the Eti-Oni region has helped establish a cocoa festival in his native land, as well as a key role with non-profit organisation International Cocoa Diplomacy seeking to drive improvements in the industry, as it faces ongoing challenges over yields, environmental issues and crop pricing.
The Nigerian-based regional ruler will be joined for our QandA forming part of the World Confectionery Conference on 12 September at the Brussels NHow Hotel, by policy expert Francesco Tramontin, of Ferrero, Brett Beach, of Made In Africa ethical confectionery brand, Fanny Gauttier, of the Rainforest Alliance, who will offer key discussion and debate on these major collective tests facing the broader industry.
Last year’s Q&A at our Harrogate UK edition of the World Confectionery Conference.
Speaking to Confectionery Production, HRM Oba Dokun Thompson, welcomed the chance to share his insights and experience, and expressed hope that collective challenges within the wider cocoa sector could be faced through collaborative action.
He said: “For Nigeria, we are going to be working on developing a very vibrant and sustainable industry that is definitely on the table, and we have to go through the necessary routes to make that happen.
“Whatever we learn ourselves, our aim is to help replicate that across other cocoa producing regions – Ghana, Ivory Coast, Cameroon have their challenges, so do other parts of South America. But one way or another, I am sure there are areas that we can discuss with them to move things forward for them.
“At the end of the day, nobody has a monopoly on understanding or knowledge, but we need to be able to complement each other to come up with robust solutions, and that is what my work really is, and someone has to start this, and stay the course with it.”
As previously discussed in our QandA sessions for the World Confectionery Conference, solving cocoa supply chain tests- including how to implement upcoming legislation including the EUDR deforestation and related corporate due diligence laws in Europe will be vital for human rights and environmental considerations, as well as supporting living income policies for agriculture communities.
We have also previously explored how sustainability plays out on an industrial level in terms of equipment and systems, and how they are being made ever more efficient to deliver finished products across the spectrum of industry that are both high quality an avoid waste and excessive manufacturing inputs.
This year’s World Confectionery Conference returns on 12 September to Brussels, after being staged there in 2022, and will be celebrating our 90th anniversary in publishing with a reception and our annual awards.
- See an extended interview withe HRM Oba Dokun Thompson in our September edition of Confectionery Production magazine