FDBusiness.com

Six thousand farmers and their families in the districts of Kolaka and Kolaka Timur in Southeast Sulawesi, will benefit from the program, which started in October 2015. It is supported by a grant from the Millennium Challenge Account, which has match funded the investment of Mondelez and Cargill. This is part of the Green Prosperity – Sustainable Cocoa Production Partnership (GP-SCPP) national initiative led by Swisscontact in Indonesia.

Andi Sitti Asmayanti, Southeast Asia Cocoa Life manager said: “After a successful first collaboration with Cargill in Indonesia in 2014, we are very excited to be working in partnership again on a large scale project in Indonesia. Through Cocoa Life, Mondelez International plans to reach 40,000 farmers in Indonesia and we believe this project will be a major step forward in reaching this commitment, and supporting cocoa farmers and communities to thrive.”

Implemented with Swisscontact, the program will deliver training in good agricultural practices to improve knowledge and boost productivity, while improving environmental practices to reduce the carbon footprint of cocoa farming. There also will be nutrition training and the creation of vegetable gardens to encourage food diversification and extra incomes for households.

Finally, there will be a focus on facilitating access to agro-inputs and training in financial literacy in order help farmers invest in and develop their farms to sustain 2 the production for the generations to come.

Also following a community needs assessment, Mondelez Cocoa Life will partner with an NGO to take a holistic approach to empower cocoa communities, particularly young farmers.

As part of the Cocoa Life programme, Mondelez will invest $400 million over the next ten years to fund sustainable cocoa production in the Asia Pacific region and around the world.