Win-Win’s Post

🚨 Cocoa Crisis Alert: Ghana’s Output Drops Dramatically 🚨 Ghana, the world’s second-largest cocoa producer, is facing a severe crisis. Rampant disease and climate challenges have slashed cocoa output to less than 55% of its average. 🌍🍫 Current figures from Cocobod show only 429,323 metric tonnes produced by July 16, a drastic drop from the typical 800,000 tonnes. This ongoing decline, exacerbated by swollen shoot disease and adverse weather, threatens the livelihoods of farmers and the global chocolate supply chain. Efforts are underway to combat this crisis. Cocobod and Mars Wrigley are developing early detection kits for disease management. However, with prices soaring in both London and New York, the industry braces for continued turbulence. 🔍 Read more about the cocoa crisis and its implications for the chocolate sector. #CocoaCrisis #Ghana #Sustainability #ChocolateIndustry #Agriculture #GlobalSupplyChain #ClimateChange #CocoaProduction https://lnkd.in/d6sp43d6

🍫💰The price of your chocolate bar doesn't tell the whole story 🍫 Cocoa farming is a critical economic activity in many developing countries, particularly in West Africa, where Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire together produce about 60% of the world’s cocoa. 🍫 Despite its importance, cocoa farming is often associated with poverty and low income levels among farmers. 🍫This post provides an overview of the current income levels of cocoa farmers, focusing on the challenges they face and the implications for their livelihoods. ***************Income Levels and Economic Context************** 🍫 The average income of cocoa farmers varies significantly depending on the region, farm size, and yield. In Ghana, the average cocoa farmer earns between $0.50 to $1.50 per day, which is below the poverty line set by the World Bank at $1.90 per day. 🍫 Income levels are highly volatile and dependent on global cocoa prices, which can fluctuate due to market dynamics and external factors such as weather conditions and political instability. **************Farm Size and Productivity**************** 🍫 Most cocoa farms are small, typically ranging from 1 to 3 hectares. Small farm sizes limit economies of scale and make it difficult for farmers to invest in improved farming practices and technologies. 🍫 Productivity is generally low, with yields averaging around 400-500 kg per hectare, compared to potential yields of over 1,000 kg per hectare with improved practices and inputs. ****************Income Sources************************ 🍫 Cocoa farmers often have multiple sources of income to diversify risk and supplement their earnings. These sources may include other cash crops, subsistence farming, and off-farm activities such as petty trading or labor. 🍫 However, the reliance on cocoa as the primary source of cash income makes farmers vulnerable to price fluctuations and crop failures. #RespectTheSource #EndChildLabor #FairCocoaForAll #FairTradeChocolate #MakeADifference #DemandFairTrade #CocoaAction #UnwrapJustice #ChooseFairTrade  .............. 🌿Liked this content?  🌿🌊 Drop a follow 🤝 and ring the 🔔 Bell on my profile. 🌿🌊 We can collaborate to make this possible!!! 🌿P.S. Repost to help champion fair wages for cocoa farmers! 💚💚💚

African Cocoa Farmers Struggle Despite Record High Prices Despite record-high cocoa prices, African cocoa farmers are facing unprecedented challenges. The global cocoa crisis is impacting farmers' livelihoods and the entire chocolate industry. Our latest blog delves into: ✅ The Challenges Faced by African Cocoa Farmers ✅ Government Policies and International Initiatives ✅ Opportunities for Innovation and Collaboration: As stakeholders in the chocolate industry, it's crucial to understand the realities on the ground and work towards sustainable solutions. #CocoaFarmers #ChocolateIndustry #CocoaCrisis #SustainableSolutions #Bakerykart https://lnkd.in/gwRMr4Qg

The latest blog post from ConfectioneryNews dives into a major issue affecting the cacao industry: Ghana’s cacao output has dropped dramatically due to disease and climate challenges. As the world’s second-largest cacao producer, Ghana’s struggles are causing significant shifts in global supply and prices. At Original Beans, we’re dedicated to sustainable practices and supporting cacao farmers through these tough times. We source our cacao from rare origins, where we work closely with farmers to ensure both high-quality cacao and positive environmental impact. Discover more about the cacao crisis and how it impacts the industry by reading the full article. https://lnkd.in/eMMNGDvG

The cocoa industry's reliance on exploitative practices is finally showing signs of collapse. Years of underpaying farmers have led to a lack of investment in plantations, resulting in lower yields and failed orders. The recent price drop is a wake-up call for the industry to prioritize fair prices and sustainable practices. #AgricSector #Africa #Cocoa #AfricanFarmers #CocoaIndustryReform #Sustainability https://lnkd.in/eEAxeTaM

Are we running out of hot chocolate? The cocoa industry faces multiple challenges that threaten the future of chocolate production: 1. Climate Change Rising temperatures, heavy rainfall, and disease outbreaks in key cocoa-producing regions like Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire are reducing yields. By 2050, large areas may become too dry for cocoa cultivation. This is the third consecutive year of poor harvests in West Africa, where most of the world’s cocoa is grown. Heavy rains have also worsened black pod disease, causing cocoa pods to rot. Meanwhile, the spread of swollen shoot, a virus deadly to cocoa plants, is accelerating. 2. Structural Decline Cocoa crops in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, which supply 60 percent of the world’s cocoa, are in structural decline due to disease, aging trees, and illegal gold mining. Farmers lack the resources to invest in their farms and increase yields. 3. Aging Farmers The average cocoa farmer is almost 50 years old. A new generation is needed, but young people may leave the industry. One thing is for sure: The future of cocoa is concerning. ___ Picture from Imgflip

Ghana's Cocoa Industry Forecasts Strong Recovery for 2024-25 Season Ghana anticipates a significant rebound in its cocoa production for the 2024-25 season, targeting a rise to 700,000 metric tons from the previous season's low of 425,000 tons. This boost comes after a challenging year characterized by adverse weather and crop diseases, resulting in a substantial drop in production and a global cocoa deficit. The current deficit has driven cocoa prices to unprecedented levels, surpassing $11,000 per ton. The impact on Ghana's economy has been profound, leading to a $575 million decline in export revenue and an almost 14% depreciation of the Ghanaian cedi against the dollar. In response, the Ghana Cocoa Board is providing farmers with free pesticides and fertilizers and is implementing new tracking systems to combat smuggling and adhere to EU deforestation regulations. The upcoming Cocoa Management Systems will document every cocoa bean sold at the farm-gate, enhancing tracking to ensure compliance. Additionally, farmers will utilize special ID cards with farm coordinates to guarantee adherence to EU deforestation rules. These measures are aimed at stabilizing the cocoa market and improving Ghana's economic prospects as the new season approaches. # Thank you Makoto Nakamura for your submission!

🌞 The dry soil will produce significant changes in society globally | Consumers 🌍 Climate change poses a formidable challenge to the cocoa industry, with rising temperatures, altered rainfall patterns, and increased pest and disease pressure jeopardizing cocoa production worldwide.Low rainfall, plant disease and aging trees led to a disappointing crop in Ivory Coast and Ghana in 2023. 💲📈 They pushed the price above $6,000 a ton in February, $9,000 a ton in March and $11,000 a ton in mid-April. Since then, the price has swung wildly, falling nearly 30 percent in just two weeks before bouncing up again. By Thursday, the price was $8,699 a ton. #cocoa #chocolate #future #economy #consumers #sustainable #strategy

Interesting read for people in the cocoa industry, recapping the past terminal price developments and forecasting the coming year, and sharing forward view on EUDR impact.

In his latest exclusive report from #WestAfrica, Ian Packham gets to grips with a #cocoa industry being ravaged by #climatechange, and the economic fallout from this rapidly emerging crisis. Although native to the #American tropics, it’s West Africa which has always dominated worldwide cocoa production. Chop up your favourite chocolate bar, and statistically 14% of its cocoa content will have originated in #Ghana. It’s the world’s second-largest producer, exporting anywhere from 800,000 to 1million tonnes of beans annually. Cocoa is so important to Ghana’s economy a golden pod appears on current banknotes, including the 50 cedi [around £2.50]. Grown in Ghana’s seven most-southerly regions, where the climate mimics the crop’s transatlantic homeland, the country’s cocoa is largely tended by small-scale farmers reliant on rainfall for irrigation. ‘We use companion planting, with mango and banana for shade when the trees are mature, and cocoyam [a tuber whose leaves are also eaten] for the saplings. We never water mature trees,’ says our guide at Tetteh Quashie Cocoa Farm, the country’s first. Planted with cocoa pods smuggled from elsewhere in West Africa in the 1870s, it is just 0.38 of a hectare. The average cocoa farm today isn’t much larger, at 1.2 hectares. According to the #OPEC Fund for International Development, in 2022 800,000 people in Ghana earned their primary income from the cocoa industry, which contributed more to #GDP than tourism. However, despite a joint initiative between Ghana and Ivory Coast, by far the largest producer in the world, to raise prices – wittily called #COPEC by many, mimicking the OPEC oil cartel – prices remain volatile for a several reasons. This creates uncertainty for farmers without large bank balances to fall back on. Since the 1950s, disease and pollutants have both taken their toll, while international demand also plays a significant role. As an example, prices paid by the government-run Cocoa Board in the second half of 2024 rose more than 58%, putting an extra £1,050 per tonne in people’s pockets, although it’s perhaps notable that there is a presidential election in December which could have influenced this. Nevertheless, the main reason the cost of your favourite #chocolate bar is set to jump is climate change. A heat wave north of Ghana in March saw temperatures in #Niger and #Chad hit 47.2°C and 47.0°C respectively. However, it was the southern Sahel, on Ghana’s northern border, where heat was most extreme. Scientists working with World Weather Attribution declared them “impossible” without human-induced climate change. Data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation records a mean temperature change of +1.3°C in West Africa since Ghana’s independence in 1957.