Profit: Improved and more equitable returns for farmers

Cocoa can be an economic engine in rural areas of the tropics, generating improved and much needed incomes and opportunities for farm families and communities. Realizing this potential, however, requires that cocoa farmers receive the knowledge, training and assistance they need to move from subsistence farming to a truly sustainable model that allows them to succeed and prosper.

The World Cocoa Foundation supports programs that work towards improved and more equitable returns for farmers by:

• Training farmers in improved production practices that are locally appropriate, economical and considerate of the environment resulting in increased yields and improved quality.
• Researching, breeding, and improving farmer access to cocoa varieties that are higher yielding and resistant to common pests and diseases.
• Researching and developing better means of pest and disease control.
• Promoting diversification of farmer income through intercropping cocoa with other crops and developing cocoa enterprises such as seedling production to improve income security.
• Improving farmers’ business skills so that farmers can better manage their farms as profitable enterprises.
• Educating farmer organizations about quality testing and control, enabling them to better market their cocoa.
• Connecting farmers and farmer organizations to market information systems.