Made-by-women specialty cocoa and chocolate

Made-by-women specialty cocoa and chocolate

Thirty Six Foods has partnered with the Able Women Multipurpose Cooperative in Cross-River State and Rokbar to bring high quality and sustainable chocolate to market both in Nigeria and The Netherlands. The partners are creating a chocolate bar fully made by women and produced in Nigeria. The partnership aims to empower female cocoa farmers through access to specialty cocoa markets.

As part of the project partnership, Agri-Logic conducted a baseline measurement on farmer livelihoods and provided training on cocoa quality to the farmer’s cooperative. Agri-Logic also took on project management and reporting to partners.

The Able Women are now formally registered, trained and have a solar dryer in place. A commercial agreement between the cooperative and the chocolate company will ensure buying of cocoa going forward. 

Cocoa sustainability management Nigeria & Ghana

Cocoa sustainability management Nigeria & Ghana

The cocoa sector is constantly considering sustainability. Low quality and low yields are a continued focus. Livelihoods, poverty, nutrition and education require attention. Most large chocolate makers have committed to sourcing 100% certified as sustainable in 2020. Many of these end buyers require increased volumes of certified cocoa, while considering their impact targets beyond 2020. All international traders and several local exporters have partnered with these large chocolate brands for sustainable impact.

Through our consulting branch in Nigeria, we support implementers throughout West Africa in designing the project objectives, organization structure, traceability procedures and budget. We are working as a project liaison monitoring progress and impact. We have analysed the project baseline, and are monitoring progress. We identify any project risks that might affect certification status, our outreach targets and our credibility. We look for opportunities to increase impact.

We integrate sustainable impact with commercial objectives. Since 2016, we have supported our clients and partners who have reached out to a significant number of farmers across West Africa, and the numbers and impact keep expanding annually. UTZ certification was obtained, and the field presence is leveraged to increase impact on livelihoods.