Cocoa farmers across West Africa are calling for greater consultation in the setting of farm-gate prices in these two regions and are welcoming an open discussion on bringing more flexibility to the variables of the price setting mechanism at the conclusion of a four-day event running from 15 – 19June 2025 in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire.
The strategic workshop aimed at strengthen collaboration between PICD and GCCP to maximize impact, increase visibility and share lessons learned to achieve a living income and ensure the well-being of cocoa farmers in West Africa.
A statement at the end of the strategic workshop signed by PICD and GCCP explained that in July 2022, the Ivorian Platform for Sustainable Cocoa (PICD) and the Ghana Civil-society Cocoa Platform (GCCP) met in Grand Bassam, Côte d’Ivoire, to streamline advocacy efforts toward the sustainable realization of a living income for cocoa farmers.
“This alliance dubbed “The African Civil Society Platform for Sustainable Cocoa” identified and agreed on four (4) priority areas to focus on. Since 2022, the Alliance has released a series of joint position papers and statements on national, regional and international cocoa sector issues and collaborated around global events. These efforts have contributed to put more emphasis on cocoa farmers voices and shown the importance of bridging the living income gap. Both platforms have gained international recognition and have participated in key global events, such as the World Cocoa Conference and the Amsterdam Cocoa Weeks.
“In 2024, the Alliance met in Accra, Ghana, to take stock of its achievements, challenges and developed a roadmap for the next 5 years. One year later, the Alliance just met in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire, to discuss recent developments and identify actions for collaboration over the next 12 months in our four priority areas:
- Living Income
The African Civil Society Platform for Sustainable Cocoa believes that achieving a living income is critical and relies on ensuring a fair price for cocoa, and supporting diversification and local transformation to give greater autonomy and independence to cooperatives. The Alliance is working on a publication looking at the true costs of production across multiple cocoa producing countries. The outcome of which shall be used to engage the regulators and the Côte d’Ivoire Ghana Cocoa Initiative (CIGHCI) to advocate for the establishment of a floor price mechanism that reflects production realities rather than relying solely on volatile international market rates. This is part of a broader efforts to decommoditize cocoa by shifting from purely market-driven pricing to a price scheme that ensures farmers earn a fair living income. We acknowledge that the gap between the current international market price and the farm-gate price is too wide and concerted efforts are required to close it.
- Deforestation & Environmental Sustainability
The Alliance advocates for a just transition towards sustainable cocoa production and is supportive of the African Regional Standard (ARS-1000) and the European Union regulation on products linked to deforestation and forest degradation (EUDR), that have a great potential of addressing the challenges of deforestation and traceability. We will prioritize independent monitoring as a tool to promote good governance, traceability and due diligence in the sector. We therefore call on all stakeholders, particularly governments, to put in place the necessary framework to support producers in the implementation of new regulations in order not to burden farmers with compliance costs.
- Child Labour
Child trafficking and child labour continue to be a challenge in the cocoa industry. The Alliance believes it is important to reframe this issue in the context of the socio-cultural and traditional realities in both countries to promote a common understanding and address it more efficiently. Although each country is developing national-level monitoring systems and/or initiatives, we regret that the engagement with and dissemination of information to civil society and producer groups has been limited. We call for greater collaboration to address this challenge.
- Good Governance, Accountability and Transparency
The Alliance reiterates the importance of transparency and accountability in the cocoa sector. Recognizing the progress made in the ARS-1000 and other initiatives, we call for closer collaboration with stakeholders, including the setting up of high-level multi-stakeholder Supervisory Council for the ARS-1000 in Côte d’Ivoire, similar to the one in Ghana. In the spirit of mutual collaboration to enhance the living income and livelihoods of producers, we advocate for greater consultation in the setting of farm-gate prices, and welcome an open discussion on bringing more flexibility to the variables (spot sales vs. futures sales) of the price setting mechanism.
In conclusion, the African Civil Society Platform for Sustainable Cocoa commits to work through advocacy, capacity building, and partnership to support the attainment of the priorities listed above and move towards a sustainable cocoa sector.
About The African Civil Society Platform for Sustainable Cocoa
The African Civil Society Platform for Sustainable Cocoa was created in July 2022 in Grand-Bassam (Cote d’Ivoire). It currently comprises the Côte d’Ivoire Sustainable Cocoa Platform and the Ghana Civil-society Cocoa Platform.
