IDH Cocoa program

In cocoa, IDH focuses on prototyping innovative field-level projects that make cocoa farming a sustainable business for the farmer, and cocoa supply more secure for the industry. Our neutral positioning as a convenor and knowledge broker, allows us to take risks in testing and developing innovative projects to generate insights that benefit the entire cocoa supply chain. The IDH Cocoa program works on initiatives that aim to improve the livelihoods of cocoa farmers and elevate them from poverty to middle class, while simultaneously ensuring a secure and sustainable supply of fair and high quality cocoa for the global market. Learning and best practice from field level projects is fed back into the industry as a whole in order to improve and join-up existing supply chain initiatives. Three areas of innovation are focused on through the program: Productivity – by building capacity at the farmer level through relevant and accessible training initiatives that improve efficiency and ‘bankability’; Community – gender empowerment and curbing malnutrition in cocoa communites; Environment – sustainable land use and zero net deforestation in the wider Taï Forest region. By working to improve the productivity of cocoa farmers and address fundamental issues around gender discrimination, malnutrition and ecological degradation, a more secure and steady supply of high-quality and sustainable cocoa can be guaranteed for the global market.