"This pandemic challenges us, but also reveals the resilience of the cocoa chain". This refrain was echoed among cocoa organisations, chocolate manufacturers, non-profit organisations, cooperation and government entities from Latin American countries participating in the Online Cocoa and Chocolate Summit, which was held May 27-28.
Latin America has seven of the eleven cocoa gene clusters. This opportunity has led the region to stimulate the growth of fine aroma cocoa as a source of development for small producers and others in the value chain.
As Rikolto we drew five conclusions from the meeting that could reveal what lies behind this sentence:
At the international level, the main factors that commonly impacted cocoa producers and traders were restrictions on movement, curfews and shop closures. Never before have chocolate manufacturers experienced a crisis of this magnitude, that simultaneously affects all their cocoa suppliers and international chocolate markets in particular.
Latin American governments were challenged to address a multilevel crisis (international, national, regional, local) that affected different sectors of society, revealing not only the inequalities in the region, but also the gaps in the market.
“Covid has magnified pre-existing problems. If the issues of inequity and inefficiency in the markets become part of our agenda during the pandemic, we should keep them in the long term, as they will continue to be important dilemmas after it.” Carla Martin, (FCCI) United States
Cocoa associations in the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Peru, Nicaragua and Guatemala presented the impacts of these restrictions on farming families in their countries of origin.
During the first month of the crisis, the cost of transportation increased, while the price of cocoa decreased. One of the biggest challenges was to collect wet cocoa from hundreds of small farmers who depended on the crop in remote rural locations, while respecting the social distancing measures and regulations issued by the different States (national, local).
The organisations implemented new protocols and managed support for hygiene supplies, while helping to keep rural communities safe from infection.
Pangoa cooperative in Peru saw the crisis as an opportunity to redouble its commitment to diversified plots with a dual purpose: feeding families and selling surplus fresh produce on the market to generate additional income.
"This pandemic brings something positive: the revaluation of local development and the land. The children have reunited with their parents in the field. Diversifying is helping us: we are developing crops for health and higher income."
The guild organisation Fenaprocacaho (Honduras) focused on improving its virtual and telephone communication to ensure a flow of information between farmers and cocoa centres on how the situation was evolving.
During the first emergency stage, the cooperative UNOCACE (Ecuador) organised the purchase of supplies and basic food for producers in extreme poverty, assuming the cost as an organisation, but also managing donations (from clients, cooperation) that eventually benefited more than one association.
What is government, private initiatives and other actors doing to safeguard the future of the supply chain and the industry in Latin America? In Ecuador, for example, some of the efforts complement those of the government. These include improving conditions for the safe transportation of cocoa to export ports, as well as financial support and the provision of safety and security equipment:
"The impacts of Covid have not yet materialised, but taking into account various risks, we have started monitoring key impact indicators on cocoa together with FAO, MOCCA and Rikolto; in order to mitigate future impacts on the cocoa sector.” Oswaldo Segura, SICACAO, Costa Rica
Much of the work to make the cocoa supply chain more sustainable and high quality prior to Covid-19, now forms the basis of the response during the crisis. It is therefore essential that these existing initiatives and structures are renewed today in favor of the major challenges that will continue after Covid. I mention a few:
"The crisis is drawing our attention to how much we are really working on the resilience of the sector. Agroforestry systems are an example of a model that we are already promoting together with the World Cocoa Foundation, CIAT and other partners, through communities of practice, which could contribute to increasing the resilience of cocoa families and strengthening the resilience of the sector".
After the initial shock of the crisis, the industry and the chain are recovering, knowing that returning to business as usual is not an option. We hope that the Summit has become a space that promotes the recognition of the situation in which the sector finds itself, making its challenges and reflections more visible today, and more sustainable and resilient tomorrow. Let us use this crisis as an opportunity to strengthen the chain.
The Online Cacao And Chocolate Summit was organised by Conexión Chocolate and members of MOCCA - Maximising Coffee and Cocoa Opportunities in the Americas, a five-year initiative funded by USDA, led by TechnoServe with Lutheran World Relief responsible for the cocoa value chain efforts and Rikolto as implementing partner in Ecuador. Grocer's Daughter Chocolate and the Fine Chocolate Industry Association (FCIA) are strategic partners.
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