Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana push for sustainability at World Cocoa Foundation’s meeting
The World Cocoa Foundation partnership meeting underscored the need for radical collaboration across the cocoa sector.
WEST AFRICA – The Côte d’Ivoire-Ghana Cocoa Initiative (CIGCI), an intergovernmental organisation, advocated for cocoa sustainability during the World Cocoa Foundation’s partnership meeting, which took place from March 19 to 20, 2025, in São Paulo, Brazil.
The Côte d’Ivoire–Ghana Cocoa Initiative (CIGCI) is an intergovernmental organisation of cocoa-producing countries whose vision is to transform the current cocoa sector into a prosperous and sustainable one.
The two-day summit, which was themed “Our Future: Resilience through Sustainability,” convened representatives from governments, cocoa-growing communities, companies, civil society, and academia.
Speakers argued that global challenges such as climate change and disease have made a sustainable cocoa sector a matter of survival rather than a moral imperative.
Alex Assanvo, Executive Secretary of CIGCI, asked, “What is the true price of cocoa?” The question was driven by the fact that cocoa prices are skyrocketing while cocoa remains scarce, mainly due to climate change and the spread of diseases in the major producing countries.
Mr. Assanvo joined his fellow industry leaders to analyse the current market dynamics. He called for bold and collaborative action across the cocoa value chain to address the sector’s fundamental challenges.
He insisted on respecting the three pillars of sustainability: economic, social, and environmental and, above all, on recognising and rewarding “good cocoa” for its value.
To address the true value of cocoa, Tawiah Agyarko-Kwarteng, Technical Office, CIGCI, participated in a panel on household income studies and the strategic use of data to develop effective policies.
She explained how Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana used production cost data to communicate on the Decent Income Differential (DRD) mechanism introduced in 2019 – an essential step in setting fair cocoa prices for farmers.
The Decent Income Differential (DRD) is a pricing mechanism with a fixed premium of US$400 per ton of cocoa sold.
Cocoa’s sustainability in West Africa
The WCF Summit comes at a time when the sustainability of cocoa cultivation in West and Central Africa is under increasing threat due to rising temperatures and erratic weather patterns.
According to research by the Independent Research Centre Climate Central, by 2024, climate change had extended periods of extreme heat across 70% of cocoa-producing regions in Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and Cameroon.
To address sustainability challenges in Nigeria, the Food and Agriculture Organisation has announced plans to invest US$200 million in restoring 18,000 hectares of degraded land in Cross River and Ondo states, supporting cocoa cultivation.
Meanwhile, Ghana, under the Ministry of Food & Agriculture, introduced a farmers’ association cooperation to drive growth and sustainability in the cocoa sector.
Additionally, Côte d’Ivoire announced a €300 million (US$309.27 million) financing package to support climate action, sustainable cocoa production, and reforestation initiatives.
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