Fairtrade puts Living Income into action with cocoa programme in Côte d’Ivoire

Fairtrade has started the on-the-ground implementation of its Living Income and Child Wellbeing Programme for cocoa in Côte d’Ivoire. This long-term programme marks a concrete next step in its partnership with Action, to help reduce the living income gap for cocoa farmers and strengthen child wellbeing in cocoa-growing communities.

From certification to living income 
Fairtrade certification provides an essential foundation for more sustainable cocoa production, but certification alone is not enough to ensure that farmers earn a living income. The Living Income and Child Wellbeing Programme therefore combines Fairtrade certification with long-term commercial commitments and targeted investments at farm, household and community level.

Action as launching partner 
In addition to the annual Fairtrade Premium, Action is investing an extra minimum €1 million per year, growing with increasing chocolate sales, in the programme while absorbing all additional costs, so consumer prices are not affected. This makes Action the first international non-food retailer to implement a living income approach across its European private label chocolate assortment. The investment builds on Action’s sourcing of 100% Fairtrade certified cocoa for all own-brand and white label chocolate products sold in more than 3,300 stores across 14 European countries. This approach reflects Action’s formula of offering the same product assortment in every market.

Implementation in Côte d’Ivoire 
The programme is now being rolled out with Fairtrade certified cocoa cooperatives in Côte d’Ivoire. It uses Fairtrade’s Living Income Reference Price as a benchmark for what farmers should earn to afford a decent standard of living, combined with a support program focusing on improving productivity and resilience through training and climate-smart farming practices, supporting income diversification for farming households, and strengthening child wellbeing through education support and child labour prevention measures.

A scalable model
Margit Verwer, Director of Business Development, Fairtrade: “The partnership with Action provides a dedicated vehicle for these long-term investments. Fairtrade designed the Living Income and Child Wellbeing Programme as a scalable model that enables more companies to move beyond certification and contribute to lasting, sector-wide change in cocoa.”

More information
For more details, please refer to the press release published by Fairtrade Netherlands.