To this day, even though Cocoa Life first launched in 2012, we still use the original framework we developed for the program. Our ambition, guiding principles and five focus areas have not changed. Each year, Cocoa Life and its partners scale up the program by helping new farmers and communities, as well as evolving the program against the five focus areas.
"This report not only represents the scale we achieved, but also how proud I am of the ongoing impact we are having. We’re enabling farmers to increase productivity, which helps them earn higher incomes in the long term and better support themselves and their families. Cocoa-growing communities also become more resilient as our interventions support them in leading their own development. By taking this farmer- and community-centric approach and collaborating with our partners, we’re creating lasting, transformative change in the cocoa supply chain."
Cathy Pieters,
Program Director, Cocoa Life
By the end of 2016, we reached 92,000 cocoa farmers in over 861 communities and 21 percent of the company’s cocoa was sustainably sourced. Our goal is to reach 200,000 cocoa farmers and 1 million community members by 2022, and ultimately source all of our cocoa sustainably, mainly through Cocoa Life.
We also made progress against key output indicators, which demonstrate how our interventions are making a difference. Our Cocoa Life team routinely collects monitoring data from our partners and assesses program performance at the local level, so that we can apply learnings to improve program outcomes in the future. In 2016, across Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Indonesia, Cocoa Life:
- Trained 74,400+ farmers on Good Agricultural Practices to increase the yield on their farms
- Distributed 2.7+ million cocoa seedlings to Cocoa Life farmers, helping them grow more healthier and productive trees
- Mapped ~115,000 hectares of cocoa farms to measure farm productivity more accurately and understand farmers’ proximity to protected forest areas, so we can take action
- Supported the activation of 850+ Community Action Plans (CAPs) and ensured these were included in the public development plans to help secure resources; 430+ communities have already completed one or more of their CAP projects
- Beyond critical child protection interventions, trained 6,400+ youth on cocoa-related enterprises and created opportunities for them to work in nurseries and provide services to farmers
- Established 1,200+ Village Savings and Loan Associations with 22,300+ community members, of which ~80% are women, providing access to finance and improving financial literacy
- Trained 34,700+ community members on Good Environmental Practices to conserve ecosystems and farmland for future generations
"At Mondelēz International, building positive impact for people and our planet is at the core of who we are and it accelerates our company’s growth. It’s why we believe Cocoa Life, our sustainable cocoa sourcing program, is critical to our business."
Christine Montenegro McGrath,
Chief Well-being, Sustainability and Public Affairs Officer, Mondelēz International
We know there is still work to be done and will continue to work closely with our partners, share best practices and learn from each other. By creating thriving cocoa communities, we can help inspire the next generation and secure a sustainable future for cocoa.
2016 GLOBAL PROGRESS DASHBOARD
This dashboard demonstrates the scale achieved by the end of 2016 and how Cocoa Life is making progress in three key cocoa origin countries: Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Indonesia. Cocoa Life monitors the below output indicators under five focus areas. These are interventions we put in place with our partners.
Farmers trained on Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs)
74,473
Cocoa seedlings distributed (through Cocoa Life)
2,731,348
Cocoa farming demonstration plots established
658
Hectares of cocoa farms mapped
114,775
Community Development Committees (CODECs) operational in communities
590
Community Action Plans (CAPs) activated
854
Communities with CAP projects completed
434
Community members trained on gender awareness
46,645
Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) established
1,208
Community members who participate in VSLAs
22,367
VSLAs linked to finance institutions
5
Community members trained on financial literacy
10,149
Community members trained on business management
16,254
Community members involved in additional Income Generating Activities (IGA)
6,796
Community members and farmers educated on issues of child labor and forced child labor
48,818
Communities with Child Protection Committees (CPCs)
489
Communities with a Child Labor Monitoring and Remediation System (CLMRS)
96
Youth trained on cocoa-related enterprises
6,414
Community members trained on Good Environmental Practices (GEPs)
34,744
Economic shade trees distributed (through Cocoa Life)
814,119
Cocoa Life routinely collects monitoring data from our partners as part of the ongoing review of program performance at the local level, so we can apply learnings to improve program outcomes in the future.
2016 Year in Review
Monthly Activites
We’re continuing to make progress on our Cocoa Life journey. Here’s a closer look at what we’ve achieved and the various partners we’ve worked with along the way.
Q1
FEBRUARY 23, 2016 — COCOA LIFE 2015 PROGRESS REPORT
Our first Cocoa Life Progress Report shares the impact, successes and challenges from 2015 through the voices of 27 people touched by the program across the globe.
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MARCH 15, 2016 — INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY IN NYC
Members of Mondelēz International’s leadership team gathered with women from other cutting-edge organizations at the International Women's Day Forum.
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MARCH 22, 2016 — INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY IN GHANA
For International Women’s Day, we brought together 540 women in the Wassa East district of Ghana to celebrate, support and recognize the women in these cocoa communities.
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Q2
APRIL 12, 2016 — INTERACTIVE COCOA FARM MAP
Do you wonder where the cocoa in your chocolate comes from? With our new Interactive Cocoa Farm Map, anyone can see where our Cocoa Life farmers and farms are located in the click of a button.
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MAY 23, 2016 — EMBODE 2016 CHILD PROTECTION ASSESSMENTS
As part of our commitment to help eliminate child labor in cocoa communities, we commissioned Embode to assess the environment and national child protection infrastructure in our key cocoa-producing countries: Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana.
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Q3
JULY 1, 2016 — EXPANSION OF SEEDLING PROGRAM
In partnership with CocoaAction, we expanded our seedling program from Ghana to Côte d’Ivoire and Indonesia to provide farmers with improved seedlings that produce higher yields.
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AUGUST 30, 2016 — PARTNERSHIPS IN INDONESIA
In partnership with Swisscontact, Cargill and Wahana Visi Indonesia, Cocoa Life is developing sustainable livelihoods in cocoa communities with Community Action Plans.
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SEPTEMBER 29, 2016 — PARTNERSHIPS IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Cocoa Life, Fundación Reddom and the United Nations Development Programme have partnered to improve farmer incomes and practices, and inspire the next generation.
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Q4
OCTOBER 20, 2016 — CARE INTERNATIONAL 2016 WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT REPORT
CARE International assessed Cocoa Life’s women’s empowerment efforts in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. As a result, Cocoa Life published its evolved approach on women’s empowerment.
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NOVEMBER 3, 2016 — #WOMEN4COCOA TWITTER JAM
For International Day of the Girl, Cocoa Life teamed up with CARE International and Oxfam on a Twitter Chat about the importance and leadership of women in cocoa communities.
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NOVEMBER 10, 2016 — COCOAACTION 2015 ANNUAL REPORT
In 2014, Mondelēz International joined forces with the World Cocoa Foundation and other leading chocolate and cocoa companies to create CocoaAction. The first Annual Report describes its approach and efforts.
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DECEMBER 20, 2016 — FARMER COACHING PROGRAM IN CÔTE D’IVOIRE
Cocoa Life introduced a new one-on-one coaching program to teach farmers about Good Agricultural Practices, while providing access to farming inputs and banking services.
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