IVORY COAST – Hershey, a leading global chocolate and snack producer, has signed a five-year agreement with nine cocoa-producing cooperatives in Côte d’Ivoire as part of its “Cocoa For Good” (CFG) strategy.
This initiative aims to build sustainable relationships with cocoa farmers, supporting responsible and resilient supply chains while improving farmers’ livelihoods and community well-being.
The partnership, formalized through a memorandum of understanding at the Joint National Cocoa Council (JNCC), features a tripartite contract between Hershey, the international commodities trading company Sucden, and the nine cooperatives.
The initiative focuses on professionalizing cocoa farming, enhancing household welfare, eliminating child labor, and promoting environmental conservation.
By working directly with farmers, Hershey hopes to increase farm profitability and build farm resilience in the face of challenges posed by climate change and fluctuating market conditions.
This agreement also aligns with Côte d’Ivoire’s National Strategy for Sustainable Cocoa, ensuring that the partnership addresses key challenges in the country’s cocoa sector.
The long-term collaboration is designed to provide stability for farmers and foster solutions to on-the-ground challenges, contributing to a stronger cocoa industry.
Hershey inaugurates schools
In addition to supporting farmers, Hershey has made strides in addressing child labor and improving education within cocoa-producing communities.
In September 2024, Hershey inaugurated three public primary schools in Gly, a village in the Lôh-Djiboua region of Côte d’Ivoire.
These projects, which include the construction of a new school and the renovation of two existing ones, were completed as part of a tripartite agreement with the National Committee for Monitoring Actions to Combat Child Labor, Trafficking, and Exploitation (CNS), chaired by First Lady Dominique Ouattara, and the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) Foundation.
James Turoff, Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Hershey, highlighted the company’s commitment to supporting education: “Supporting children’s education has been central to Hershey’s mission since its founding over 130 years ago.
Today, we continue this work by helping to develop the educational system in cocoa-producing communities. We hope that better access to quality education will allow generations of children to thrive and lead productive lives.”
This school construction initiative is part of Hershey’s broader efforts to improve infrastructure in cocoa-growing regions.
As part of an agreement signed in April 2023 with CNS and ICI, Hershey committed to funding the construction of 12 primary schools with a total of 72 classrooms by 2025.
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