Barry Callebaut protects national park

Barry Callebaut is helping protect the Taï National Park in southwest Côte d’Ivoire.

The park is one of the last major remnants of the vast primary tropical forest that once spanned across present-day Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia and Sierra Leone, and is the largest island of forest remaining in West Africa, according to the UNESCO World Heritage Center. It is noted for its population of endangered pygmy hippopotamus, 11 species of monkeys and 1,300 species of higher plants.

Cocoa farmers in the rural areas bordering the park are being offered training in sustainable cocoa production. Barry Callebaut is conducting the training programme that will enable approximately 2,000 farmers from five cooperatives to comply with the environmental, social and economic criteria defined by the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) standards and become Rainforest Alliance Certified.

In cooperation with the Rainforest Alliance, Barry Callebaut is also establishing nurseries for indigenous shade trees, launching a tree planting programme, creating nurseries for cocoa seedlings, and setting up demonstration plots to showcase good agricultural practices.

The training programme comprises agricultural training for farmers and business and administrative skills training for the management personnel of the respective cooperatives. Agricultural training takes place in farmer field schools, a methodology that facilitates adult learning on good agricultural practices and environmental protection through participant interaction and demonstrations. In addition to business training, the cooperatives also receive support in setting up internal management systems required to qualify for Rainforest Alliance independent certification. Barry Callebaut’s in-house certification team, based in Côte d’Ivoire, is conducting the training of lead farmers alongside qualified lead trainers accredited by the Rainforest Alliance.