Peace Dividend Initiative’s Post

Farmers in #Ghana and #Côte d'Ivoire, producing over 60% of the world's #cocoa, live in dire poverty, earning just 6% of the sector's income—less than $1 a day. #Oxfam International's report reveals that up to #90% of #Ghana's cocoa farmers now face deeper #poverty post-pandemic, struggling to afford basic needs like #food and #shelter. Meanwhile, #chocolate giants like #Nestlé, #Hershey, #ELindt, and #Mondelez have raked in $15 billion in profits since #2020. Analysts liken the exploitative supply #chains to colonial practices, as farmers sell #cocoa to local collectives, who then pass it to dealers and ultimately, major corporations in #Europe and the #U.S. Efforts to establish fair pricing through the living income differential scheme by #Ghana and #Côte d'Ivoire have been thwarted. Most #Ghanaian farmers receive just #10% of the fair payment, equating to a mere $40 annually for their labor. These corporations often avoid paying fair prices by sourcing cocoa elsewhere or outright refusing to comply. The dire situation forces #farmers to clear forests, worsening deforestation, and fuels child labor, with 1.5 million #children working on #cocoa farms in these regions. Many children are trafficked and exploited, working up to #100 hours weekly without pay. A #2019 study showed that brands like #Hershey and #Nestlé sold chocolate sourced from forced child labor. This systemic exploitation is rarely covered by international media. #Chocolate #Nestle #Capitalism #Africa #Ghana #CoteDivoire #ChildLabor #Inequality #Press #Money #Food

Cross-Border Trade Associations (CBTAs) in East & Southern Africa (ESA) play a critical role in regional economic integration but face many challenges in effectively advocating for their members. That's about to change! For the next two years, Agricultural Market Development Trust, in partnership with AGRA, will focus on "Empowering Women and Youth to Participate in Structured Cross-Border Grain Trade through CBTAs" at key border points in Kenya, Malawi, Zambia, Uganda, and Tanzania. 🎯 Targeting value chains: Maize 🌽 Rice 🍚 Common Beans 🫘 Soybean 🌱 Groundnuts 🥜 This initiative will strengthen CBTAs, increase participation in cross-border trade, and open up new economic opportunities for women and youth! #EmpoweringTrade #YouthInTrade #CrossBorderTrade #WomenInTrade #Agriculture #EconomicIntegration Vallary Adhiambo Andrew Obando Dr. Tedson Nyongesa Allan Mukisira CPA Jared Omunyole

With more financial and business development support, MSMEs can be key drivers of food systems transformation and sustainable development. This World MSME Day, we are putting eyes on enterprises in the #missingmiddle of agriculture. #WorldMSMEDay 

According to the UNOCHA (The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs), nearly 282 million people in Africa are undernourished, and over a billion people cannot afford a healthy diet. The Roddenberry Foundation, in collaboration with the Sall Family Foundation, The Schooner Foundation, Shockwave Foundation, and Tarsadia Foundation, initiated +1 Food Security to advocate for a sustainable approach to ensuring adequate, safe, and nutritious food across the continent. We are excited to introduce our fourth cohort of +1 Food Security grantees, who are dedicated to reshaping the food security landscape in sub-Saharan Africa. Learn more here: https://bit.ly/3TRsJbd Kenyan Peasants League (KPL) Mnandi Africa AkoFresh ™️ YICE Uganda Fruity Schools Africa Smart Foods Limited AgriTech Analytics Limited Adili Solar Hubs Limited Nampya Farmers Market Wandusoa Organic Cameroon Changing Lives in Innovative Partnerships (CLIP) Solidarite des Femmes sur le Fleuve Congo (SOFFLECO) Mzimba Youth Organization Griincom Innovate Limited Women Smiles Uganda #foodsecurity #globalimpact

For our Agri-Food Systems to truly Transform, we need gender inclusion at the core given women account more than 50% of agri-labourforce. At IDH we strive towards Gender Transformation by tackling the systemic barriers to inclusion and economic participation of women in agri.Working with Agri-SMEs, we are changing business practices through tested and data driven approaches. I am proud to have been part of developing this #GenderTransformative Business model #Tanzania IDH Intelligence

Interesting programme in Garissa County, #Kenya, where the ILO’s PROSPECTS initiative, is enhancing sustainability and strengthening the camel milk value chain. Great to see how it’s boosting incomes and creating opportunities, especially for women in host and refugee communities. #sustainability #supplychain #valuechain

🌱 R i c e F o r G r e a t e r A u t o n o m y 🌱 **and food security in Senegal** Traditionally, the farmers in the region of Kaolack in Senegal have mainly grown millet, maize and peanuts. However, rice has always been served in households there. This had to be bought in at a high price and was a burden on the household income.  In order to strengthen food security, the horizont3000 partner ONG Symbiose Sénégal 🇸🇳 began growing rice together with producers in the Kaolack region. Over the years, rice cultivation has become increasingly widespread. However, the seed had to be brought from the north of Senegal as there was no rice seed to buy in the neighbourhood. To ensure seed autonomy, the producers therefore asked Symbiose to also support them in the production of their own seeds. As a result, a cooperative, among others including women's groups, was founded for rice seed.  Today, rice has also become an important crop in the region of Kaolack. The self-produced seed and rice are successfully sold through the cooperative and give the producers autonomy, food security and a valuable additional income. Miss Diarra THIAM, the president of the women’s group JOKKO in the village of Medina Ngueyene, is convinced of this initiative: “I produce my own rice seed. When I buy it from somewhere there can be delays, or the seed isn't suitable for the soil we have here. I know exactly which seeds to use and that way I'm much more independent.” 👀Would you like to find out more about the sustainable projects of horizont3000 and its project partners?  👉Take a look at our website:  https://lnkd.in/dkmpbk2W 🗺️Locations : Community of Dabali and Kaolack, Senegal Many thanks to the funders of this project: LED - Liechtensteinischer Entwicklungsdienst and Austrian Development Agency, and to our member organisation in Senegal Welthaus Graz.    #horizont3000 #PeopleAtTheCentre #DevelopmentCooperation #SustainableDevelopment #SDGs #Agenda2030 #HumanRights 

On Panel 5 at the World Cocoa Conference PRO-PLANTEURS project lead Sonia Lehmann exchanged among others with #GISCO members Rainforest Alliance and Mars on the role of #womenincocoa.  #CocoaBrussels2024   From their diverse perspectives, the panelists agreed on the main #challenges of women in cocoa being the access to #land (titles) and the access to #finance. These challenges are directly intertwined with gaining access to #cooperatives and to the market, as well as accessing services and #trainings. Drawing from 9 year-experience of PRO-PLANTEURS in Côte d'Ivoire, a country where women headed households receive only as small fraction of the Living Income Benchmark, Sonia highlighted the importance of first building the #resilience of women towards external shocks. This, she argued, lays the foundation for subsequent investments aimed at generating a #livingincome. #PROPLANTEURS is the joint #project of GISCO, the Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft (#BMEL), the Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ) and the Conseil du Café-Cacao (#CCC). PRO-PLANTEURS works with more than 30.000 #cocoa farming families in Côte d’Ivoire towards improving their incomes and professionalising the organisations they belong to. The project works with farmers' organisations in the regions of Abengourou, Aboisso, Agboville, Yamoussoukro and Divo.  👉 Learn more about PRO-PLANTEURS here: https://lnkd.in/ekxvjgX  

On this #WorldChocolateDay, remember one key number: 40. That’s the percentage of the world’s chocolate sourced from small farms in Ivory Coast 🍫. Yet, despite supplying such a significant portion, these farmers endure extreme poverty, struggling to meet even their basic needs. Meanwhile, big chocolate corporations rake in billions. But there's a glimmer of hope! Since the early 2000s, the Ecookim and Socak Katana cooperatives have been transforming the lives of these farmers. These cooperatives are making a tangible difference by uniting them, negotiating fair prices, improving access to financing and resources, as well as greater participation in decision-making. Thanks to our support, these cooperatives are helping farmers secure a better deal! ✅ They champion FairTrade, BIO, and Rainforest Alliance certifications that ensure minimum prices and use premiums to invest in their communities. This means building schools, installing water systems, and creating income-generating activities for women. Want to learn more about their incredible impact? 🌍 Check out the link to read our interview with Ecookim and Socak Katana! #SustainableCocoa #FairTrade #EmpoweringFarmers 🌱 

Big announcement 🔊 The Sustainable Farming for a Climate Resilient Livelihood of Cocoa Farmers in Uganda Project with funding from Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) | Partner in Sustainable Development has been extended until 2027! Building on the past one year of implementing the pilot for phase A of the project, Solidaridad and other project partners will continue to address the environmental, social, and governance corporate social responsibility risks in the cocoa value chain in Uganda. In this implementation partnership, Solidaridad will use its gender expertise to implement gender-transformative methodologies that will impact 600 cocoa farmers including but not limited to women and youths' living income and cocoa yields. In addition, Solidaridad will lead in rolling out the Village Saving and Loans Association(VSLA) to boost farmers' access to finance while simultaneously promoting the development of cocoa agroforestry agricultural methods for climate adaptation and mitigation. The extension comes at a time when cocoa production in Uganda has increased, with the value of formal exports growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.3 percent ($54.2m to $105.8m) between 2017 and 2021. Solidaridad East and Central Africa's Regional Business Development and Partnership Engagement Manager, Molly Kwamah, reflected on the new extension saying, "The Uganda cocoa sector is still very fresh yet a promising value chain that requires sustainable interventions to improve socio-economic well-being of the cocoa smallholder farmers. The project is therefore coming on time as it seeks to promote social inclusion and economic empowerment for the stakeholders in this commodity." #Uganda #ProjectExtension #CocoaFarming #Farmers #Partnerships #Agriculture #MarketAccess #SupplyChain SanoRice Holding B.V. | Icam Cioccolato