Barry Callebaut and Deloitte have announced a multi-year partnership to accelerate the support for cocoa farming communities in Indonesia.
The multi-year strategic collaboration will see the companies deliver educational and skills development programmes to over 30,000 cocoa farmers in Sulawesi and Sumatra.
According to Barry Callebaut, Indonesia is the world’s sixth largest cocoa producer and cocoa plantations in the country are dominated by small-holder farmers.
Under the collaboration, cocoa farmers – of which 20% of these are women – will have access to financial literacy and entrepreneurship trainings.
The trainings intend to help the farmers find ways to professionalise their small businesses through addressing challenges of low productivity, and as a result, improve their livelihoods. Together, the companies will focus on creating better opportunities for youths through education and preserving an interest and appreciation for cocoa farming for the future.
The multi-year partnership is in line with both Barry Callebaut and Deloitte Indonesia’s respective sustainability and social impact initiatives, Forever Chocolate and WorldClass.
“By strengthening our connections with cocoa farmers in collaboration with businesses, communities, and educators, we can enable farmers to access the initiatives they need to improve their agricultural practices and income diversification,” said Claudia Lauw, country leader of Deloitte Indonesia.
Richard Fahey, VP for Barry Callebaut Cocoa Asia Pacific, added: “This new collaboration with Deloitte Indonesia will significantly scale our efforts on the ground and enable us to continue to provide pressing support to the cocoa farmers in Indonesia. I am confident that together with the talented team at Deloitte, we will make an impact on this generation of cocoa farmers and beyond.”
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