Most of the world’s cocoa is grown by more than five million smallholder farmers in parts of West Africa, Southeast Asia and the Americas. These farmers continually struggle with unproductive, aging cocoa trees they cannot afford to replace. Their yields, incomes and quality of life are in decline.
Meanwhile, the chocolate industry continues to grow. By 2020, demand for cocoa could outstrip supply by more than 1 million tonnes unless something is done now to boost production.
We believe that securing cocoa’s future against rising demand and greater economic and environmental pressures begins with enabling farmers to increase their yields and, by extension, their incomes. Farmers, especially those in West Africa, need access to improved planting materials, fertilizers and training in good agricultural practices, so they can produce more cocoa per hectare. Our work in Indonesia and West Africa has shown that this kind of support can help farmers to triple their yields in three to five years. This not only boosts supplies, it also helps farmers lift their families out of poverty and access essential services like education and health care.
To promote our approach around the world, our Sustainable Cocoa Initiative works across three areas to put farmers first:
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Certifying our entire cocoa supply and encouraging others in our industry to commit to certification, to reach as many farmers as possible
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Conducting breakthrough research to improve cocoa breeding, farming methods and protection against pests and disease
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Investing in critical cocoa sourcing regions to give farmers the knowledge and technology they need to triple their yields.
There is a summary of our work in these three areas below, and more information on our cocoa sustainability website and at www.cocoasustainability.com.
Certification
Certification gives some insight into conditions in our supply chain, but more importantly it is currently the best tool the cocoa industry has to provide farmers worldwide with consistent and continued support. Our cocoa certification practices aim to go beyond existing activities by introducing productivity measures that will ensure certification directly increases growers’ incomes.
“In short, this was a life-changing week, and as a Mars Associate, I am more engaged, I understand the programs that will sustain the cocoa industry both socially and economically, and I look forward to my day-to-day job to help make a difference in farmers’ lives.”
Kyle Chapman, Mars Chocolate Associate and Mars Ambassador Program participant We were the first global chocolate company to commit to sourcing only certified cocoa, and we will do so by 2020. We intend to buy a minimum of 100,000 tonnes of certified cocoa annually from both Rainforest Alliance certifiedTM and UTZ certified supplies.
As a result of our work to encourage greater levels of certification throughout the global cocoa industry, the first UTZ-certified cocoa from Indonesia was produced in August 2010. We continue to develop new cocoa-growing regions in Asia, and in March 2011 we purchased our first UTZ- certified cocoa from Vietnam.
In September 2011, we announced our partnership with a third certification partner, Fairtrade International. From June 2012, all MALTESERS® in the UK and Ireland carry the Fairtrade logo. MALTESERS® is the third biggest confectionery brand in the UK, and the move will increase total UK sales of chocolate made from Fairtrade-certified cocoa by 10 percent. We are seeking opportunities to scale up our use of Fairtrade certification in the longer term to help us accomplish our 2020 target.
We remain on track to meet our target of 100 percent certification by 2020: 10 percent of the cocoa we purchased in 2011 was from certified sources compared with 5 percent in 2010. In 2012, we expect to exceed our 20 percent goal and become the world’s largest user of certified cocoa at almost 90,000 tonnes.
In recognition of our efforts, the Rainforest Alliance named Mars one of seven Sustainability Standard Setters at its 2011 Annual Gala.
Research
Typically funded by government, agricultural agencies or universities, research into cocoa cultivation has long been under-resourced, receiving far too little research or funding, given its importance. As a result, estimates show that cocoa farmers produce just 10 percent of the output they could achieve if conditions were perfect. By contrast, corn production has reached 60 percent of its theoretical yield.
We fund and lead innovative research programs that will increase understanding of how to improve cocoa quality and yields and better control pests and disease. Our investment in this area will ultimately help increase growers’ productivity and incomes.
This work is led by the Mars Center for Cocoa Science in Bahia, Brazil, which opened in 1982. The Center is a hub for world-class science and collaboration and leads our work on cocoa breeding, agroforestry systems and biodiversity-rich environments and land rehabilitation.
Our collaboration with IBM and the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Center resulted in Mars publicly releasing the sequence of the cocoa genome so scientists worldwide can use it to develop more resilient and higher yielding cocoa crops. See the case study for more details.
Technology Transfer
To achieve the greatest benefits for the largest number of farmers, Mars Chocolate is building Cocoa Development Centers (CDCs) in several cocoa-growing regions of Asia and West Africa, in partnership with international donor agencies, governments and others. These centers provide farmers with the tools, techniques and training to cultivate high-quality yields. Farmers can use planting materials from CDCs to establish Cocoa Village Clinics — local nurseries that facilitate the commercial distribution of cocoa plants, providing an additional source of income.
In addition, Mars helps aspiring farmers to learn best practices and find work when they leave school, strengthening our future supply chain in the process. Approximately 300 students aged 14-18 will receive a certificate upon completing the Mars-sponsored cocoa curriculum at an agricultural school in Bone Bone, Indonesia. The students also grow and sell cocoa seedlings to local farmers, providing the school with an extra source of income. Based on our success in Asia, we continue to expand our cocoa sustainability program in West Africa. See the box below for details.
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