The by-line of the 3rd World Cocoa Conference held in beautiful Punta Cana was “Building bridges between producers and consumers”.
Punta Cana, DR. This formed the backdrop for the discussions which took place during plenary and concurrent sessions, panel discussions, in the corridors and even in the booths at the expo. Attended by some 1300 participants from 63 countries representing producing countries and (processing & consuming) countries, the conference had several innovative firsts.
The Producers Forum was one such initiative. It preceded the formal conference and was designed to provide a space for farmers’ voices to be heard. There was consensus from large producing countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America to small island states of the Caribbean, that producers needed a dedicated platform for furthering their interests in order to assure sustainability in the sector. Acknowledging that the demand for cacao outstripped supply, an urgent call was made for more equitable distribution of profits, increased productivity and quality as well as addressing social needs (education, health etc.). In addition, diversification of activities to include value-added products was encouraged. The Women in Cocoa & Chocolate Network Event was another “first”. Surpassing expectations, the standing room only affair, had the frank sharing of experiences, networking and camaraderie among scores of women who were involved at some stage of the cacao value chain. Facing similar challenges, irrespective of country, the group saw opportunities, and a small steering committee (including IICA’s Lizz Johnson) volunteered to develop the next steps necessary for this cohort.
Themes for the 3-day conference were appropriately captured in: Road to Sustainability, The Future of Production, Markets & Trading and Strengthening Sustainability. Common concerns relating level of poverty among small farmers in cacao production, adapting to Climate Change, certification, child labour and attracting young persons surfaced throughout the discussions and the meeting concluded with the elaboration of the Bávaro Declaration which had recommendations on following themes:
i. Cocoa farm models of the future: knowledge gaps, research priorities and climate change.
ii. Living Income for cocoa smallholders
iii. Raising women’s voices and attracting a new generation of farmers
iv. Marketing cocoa quality, sustainability and origin
v. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): measuring progress towards sustainability and implementing the Global Cocoa Agenda.
vi. Cocoa Sustainability Fund
Confirmation that fine flavoured cacao was the preferred product, with fantastic growth potential, was great news for the cacao producing countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. It was also quite encouraging to hear of existing and planned programmes in the various member states’ that were committed to developing the sector. Being reassured that the project being implemented by IICA in Peru, Dominican Republic and Canada under the aegis of the Technical Cooperation Fund (FonTC) adequately identified the pertinent issues and sought to address them, was the ultimate prize!
More information: http://www.icco.org/about-us/icco-news/318-1-300-participants-address-sector-issues-at-the-third-world-cocoa-conference.html
