In fiscal year 2011/2012 the company will invest CHF5m in farmer training, infrastructure and community education and health programmes.
The activities will be undertaken in cooperation with agricultural and development experts and government institutions. Barry Callebaut will focus first on large producer countries including Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Indonesia, Cameroon and Brazil, and aims to expand the initiative, called Cocoa Horizons, to other cocoa producing countries with high development potential over the coming years.
CEO Juergen Steinemann, said: “The scarcity of quality cocoa is a serious concern that touches the heart of our business – because without more cocoa, we can’t produce more chocolate. Innovative and comprehensive solutions are urgently needed to reverse the overall decline in global cocoa production.
“We’ve therefore made sustainable cocoa a pillar of our company’s ambitious growth strategy, and accelerated our longtime efforts to ensure sustainable cocoa production. Our newest initiative, Cocoa Horizons, is the most ambitious and far reaching sustainability programme in Barry Callebaut’s history.”
The initiative builds on Barry Callebaut’s proven Quality Partner Programme (QPP) for cocoa farmer cooperatives.
Barry Callebaut’s Cocoa Horizons initiative comprises three pillars:
Source: Barry Callebaut
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