Strengthening child protection systems of cocoa cooperatives in Côte d'Ivoire

About this project

This project takes place in the Ivory Coast, the largest cocoa producing country in the world with an estimated 800,000 cocoa smallholder farmers. For several decades the topic of child labour has been on the radar in the cocoa industry. Research was implemented and a diversity of approaches to tackle this problem have been developed. Despite efforts made so far it remains a systemic challenge to be solved. Data varies, but to give an indication; a recent report (NORC, 2020) states that ca 790,000 children were engaged in child labour in the Ivorian cocoa production during the 2018/2019 cocoa season. Being aware of the challenges related to potential child labour, the project partners see this project as an opportunity to increase our positive impact in our supply chain, together with local stakeholders.Their focus is on four cocoa cooperatives which are highly committed to address potential child labour among their member cocoa farmers. They are located in four cocoa producing regions: Sassandra, Lakota, Aboisso and San Pedro, covering more than 50 villages and 2,289 cocoa farmers.The cooperatives are very diverse and selected based on several factors, among which the results of our risk assessment and their strong motivation to be part of this project. The cooperatives are also very different in terms of number of members, systems and activities in place to address potential child labour, medium and high intensity of the cocoa production areas, certification status and rep…

Published by

Netherlands Enterprise Agency · Government

Countries

Côte d’Ivoire

Sectors

Agricultural co-operatives

Funded by

Netherlands Enterprise Agency

Implemented by

Baronie-de Heer B.V., Afrique Secours et Assistance, CÉMOI Côte d’Ivoire

Accountable

Netherlands Enterprise Agency

Published by Netherlands Enterprise Agency to the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI), last updated 1 Apr 2026 and imported automatically. IATI identifier: NL-KVK-27378529-FBK22S12AB.

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