OREANDA-NEWS. In 2015, cocoa farmers in C?te d’Ivoire have received over €7 million in premium payments under the Cargill Cocoa Promise, while another €7 million were distributed as sustainability premiums to cooperatives for their certified beans’ deliveries. Over 50% of the sums paid to the cooperatives have been reinvested to strengthen cocoa cooperatives’ infrastructures, allowing for the construction of three warehouses and improving the transport and logistics for beans with the acquisition of over 50 trucks, many of which via the FiE Sustainability Innovation Award winning financing mechanism.

As an overall trend, the cooperatives participating in the program have been spending an increasing amount in community services (11% of total premium amount), covering the improvement of health services, the construction of seven schools and 17 new potable water sources. Cargill’s Monitoring and Evaluation system effectively traces back the allocation of funds for each participating cooperative and keeps track of how the money is spent. For the first time in five years, cooperatives have been able to allocate 10 percent of premium payments to savings, which demonstrates the farmer organizations’ maturity and professionalization, and establishes the basis for great financial autonomy.

“All of us increasingly care about the origin of the things we buy,” says Taco Terheijden, Director Cocoa Sustainability at Cargill. “We persistently focus on real results to demonstrate to farmers that we mean business when we say we want to support them in improving their livelihoods. Our programs prioritize their needs. For our customers and partners whose contributions directly benefit those for whom they are aimed, it is great to see what our program delivers. It clearly shows the longer terms results we aim to achieve and how we intend to get there.”

Ahead of the overall industry average, over 30% of the beans Cargill is sourcing are third-party certified sustainable. Launched in 2012, the Cargill Cocoa Promise is the company’s commitment to improve the livelihoods of farmers and their communities in ways that enable them to deliver more cocoa in the long-term and secure a thriving cocoa sector for generations to come. The premium payments are made to farmers for selling their UTZ, Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade certified cocoa beans and are funded by confectionary and food manufacturers and retailers.