Barry Callebaut and Cameroon are intensifying their cooperation toward sustainable cocoa farming by supporting the next generation of cocoa farmers.
The Swiss chocolate manufacturer and the Cameroonian government plan to support future cocoa farmers through the NEW GENERATION program by establishing access to family farm plots, training, inputs, financing and equipment acquisition.
Launched in 2012 by the Cameroon Cocoa and Coffee Interprofessional Council (CICC), the NEW GENERATION program is designed to eliminate barriers that are stopping many young Cameroonians from succeeding their parents in cocoa farming. Objectives include rejuvenating cocoa farms, introducing young Cameroonians into cocoa farming and lowering the average age for cocoa farmers in Cameroon.
In addition, the focus will be on cocoa farmer income diversification programs, by promoting, next to cocoa farming, the cultivation of other agricultural products and the marketing of these products.
“Without cocoa farmers, there is no chocolate,” said Barry Callebaut CEO Antoine de Saint-Affrique. “By combining the expertise and resources on the ground from the CICC and Barry Callebaut, we want to accelerate the progress towards a sustainable cocoa farming sector, in order for cocoa farming to remain an attractive professional future for young Cameroonians.”
Barry Callebaut and Cameroon plan to present the first outcomes of their collaboration in early 2020.
