Value Chain Cocoa

• CULTIVATION
• HARVEST
• INTERMEDIATE TRADE
• TRANSPORT
• FURTHER PROCESSING
• MANUFACTURING
• RETAIL

• • Environmental
    indicators
  • Emissions, effluent and waste
  • Resource consumption

    Some higher-yielding cocoa varieties require more water and nutrients, thereby damaging soil quality. The soil is the most important resource for cocoa farmers. If it becomes unusable, their livelihoods are put at risk.

  • Biodiversity

    Despite potential maximum yields of around one tonne per hectare per year, average production stands at just 400 kilograms. A key reason for this is the lack of biodiversity, which maintains soil fertility and protects it from erosion. Furthermore, a more diverse plantation not only increases yields but also makes them more resilient to climate change. At the same time, it reduces dependence on a single ‘cash crop’ – one of the main causes of widespread poverty amongst cocoa farmers.

  • Transport emissions
  • Animal welfare
  • Human rights
  • Discrimination

    Women make up 68 per cent of the workforce in the cocoa sector, yet they lag behind men when it comes to cultivation. The sector’s patriarchal structures marginalise them: they are scarcely represented in cooperatives, and for many, land ownership and running their own farms remain out of reach. As a result, they often lack access to training and certification programmes.

  • The interests of the local community

    Economic self-determination involves the state providing infrastructure and thereby safeguarding the interests of the local population. Poor transport links to markets, for example, weaken cocoa farmers’ bargaining position. Furthermore, the lack of livelihoods and wages that provide a decent standard of living exacerbates the wide-ranging problems on cocoa farms.

  • Child labour

    Child labour is considered the most well-known risk in the cocoa value chain. A distinction is made between the worst forms of child labour, general child labour and children helping out on family farms. Children are at risk of serious injury during the cocoa bean harvest. Particularly serious is the trafficking of children from neighbouring countries to force them to work on cocoa farms. Parental poverty and false promises often lead to such trafficking.

  • Forced and compulsory labour

    Forced labour in the cocoa sector occurs primarily on cocoa plantations in Côte d’Ivoire. Children are trafficked there from the neighbouring countries of Mali and Burkina Faso (see the ‘Child Labour/Trafficking’ risk area). Children and young people from Côte d’Ivoire itself are also affected. Until 2011, it remained largely impossible for the government to effectively criminalise forced labour and enforce the relevant laws. The first convictions were handed down in 2012. However, efforts to combat forced labour continue to falter to this day, primarily due to the inadequate training and resources available to officials.

  • Freedom of association
  • Working practices/
    -quality
  • Employment
    status
  • Health and Safety at Work

    Cocoa farming poses significant risks to health and safety. Workers often use machetes to knock the pods off the trees – a high risk of injury. They then carry the cocoa pods, packed in sacks, sometimes for kilometres. Carrying heavy loads over long distances and the lack of protective clothing place an additional strain on their health.

  • Discrimination / Diversity

    Women make up 68 per cent of the workforce in the cocoa sector, yet they lag behind men when it comes to cultivation. The sector’s patriarchal structures marginalise them: they are scarcely represented in cooperatives, and for many, land ownership and running their own farms remain out of reach. As a result, they often lack access to training and certification programmes.
  • Governance
  • Corruption, bribery, accepting benefits
  • Anti-competitive behaviour
  • Compliance
  • Tax evasion

    Tax evasion is a major issue in the cocoa industry, particularly through smuggling. Differing export tax rates across West African cocoa-producing countries often create incentives to smuggle cocoa beans across borders. If domestic demand falls, farmers who can only feed their families by selling their entire harvest are often left with no choice: they have to resort to illegal means to sell their beans.

  • Poor governance

    Poor governance places a significant burden on the cocoa sector. A state must enable its citizens to lead a life of dignity. This includes the right to work. Upholding this right means making vocational training accessible, providing adequate infrastructure, creating equal opportunities in access to capital, and guaranteeing legal certainty – for example, through clear regulations on land ownership. Many cocoa-producing countries have neglected these responsibilities for years.

  • Product
    responsibility
  • Customer safety
  • Labelling of products
  • Marketing, Advertising
  • Protection of customer data