WEST AFRICA – Italian manufacturer of branded chocolate and confectionery products, Ferrero has reported significant progress on its action plan to protect and restore forests in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana cocoa sector.

This is part of the Cocoa & Forest Initiative (CFI), a partnership between the two countrys’ governments and the cocoa and chocolate industry, to contribute to ending deforestation to end deforestation in the cocoa sector.

“We can say with confidence that we are on track and even ahead of schedule to reach our CFI targets for 2022. For over 30% of our CFI indicators we are already close to reaching or have even exceeded our defined goals for 2022,” stated the company.

The company further highlighted that the strong progress was possible due to the trusted partnership they have built with their suppliers over the years.

According to the company’s published report, in the first year, Ferrero has mapped over 140,000 cocoa farms in total in both countries. This has enabled them to progress with their approach of sourcing certified, mapped and traceable cocoa.

They have developed more than 15,000 hectares of cocoa agroforestry and distributed about 500,000 multi-purpose trees to farmers to plant on their farms.

In addition to that they have trained over 90,000 farmers and organizations in Good Agricultural Practices and over 32,000 farmers in Climate Smart Cocoa.

“We are proud of our performance in the first year. It energizes us to continue with the same dedication to make sure that we meaningfully contribute to this collective initiative and to the common goal of ending deforestation in the cocoa sector,” added the company.

Ferrero targets that by the end of 2020, all the cocoa in their supply chain will come from sustainable sources, with the beans polygon mapped and segregated

“With the Cocoa & Forest Initiative we are bringing meaningful and lasting change into the cocoa sector. As Ferrero, we are very proud to contribute to this collective initiative and it is in line with our commitments and values as a family company.”

“Moving forward, Ferrero will continue working to strengthen its cocoa sustainability program with a positive and lasting impact on the cocoa value chain,” says Marco Gonçalves, Chief Procurement & Hazelnut Company Officer at Ferrero.

The Ferrero CFI action plan is embedded in Ferrero’s overall cocoa sustainability strategy.