EU JUST DROPPED A WARNING: Fix your cocoa… or lose the market!
The European Union and France’s development partners want Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire to speed up changes in the cocoa sector so that they can stay competitive under new global green standards. Researchers at the Cocoa4Future meeting in Accra discussed problems such as the common Cocoa Swollen Shoot Disease (CSSVD), the desire for low- to no-shade systems that harm long-term yields, and the fact that certification programs like Fairtrade and Organic don’t help everyone the same way. Some suggestions include growing more CSSVD-resistant seeds, encouraging agroforestry, clarifying who owns trees, supporting mutant cocoa varieties, providing more extension services, and making farmer support systems official. EU officials said that if these changes aren’t made, West African cocoa could face tighter sustainability rules in Europe and less market access as the world market moves toward traceable, climate-resilient cocoa that is supplied ethically.
