Cargill has said that it paid its cocoa producers in Côte d’Ivoire €14m in 2015, as it reveals measures to enhance the traceability of funds allocated.
Cargill’s monitoring and evaluation system will effectively trace back the allocation of funds for each participating cooperative and keep track of how the money is spent.
Last year, Cargill’s cocoa farmers received over €7m in premium payments as part of its Cocoa Promise, while another €7m were distributed as sustainability premiums to cooperatives for their certified beans’ deliveries. Over 50% of the sums paid to the cooperatives have been reinvested to strengthen cooperatives’ infrastructures, allowing for the construction of three warehouses and improving the transport and logistics for beans with the acquisition of over 50 trucks, Cargill said.
The US-based firm added that, as an overall trend, the cooperatives participating in the programme have been spending an increasing amount on community services – 11% of the total premium amount – covering the improvement of health services, the construction of seven schools and 17 new potable water sources.
For the first time in five years, cooperatives have been able to allocate 10% of premium payments to savings, which demonstrates the farmer organisations’ maturity and professionalisation and establishes the basis for great financial autonomy, Cargill added.
Cargill director cocoa sustainability Taco Terheijden said: “All of us increasingly care about the origin of the things we buy. We persistently focus on real results to demonstrate to farmers that we mean business when we say we want to support them in improving their livelihoods. Our programmes prioritise their needs. For our customers and partners whose contributions directly benefit those for whom they are aimed, it is great to see what our programme delivers. It clearly shows the longer terms results we aim to achieve and how we intend to get there.”
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