Implementation of the agroforestry partnership has already begun in Brazil, Côte d'Ivoire, and Nigeria, aiming to train 25,000 cocoa farmers to become more 'forest-positive'.
Nestlé, the maker of KitKat and ofi (olam food ingredients), a global leader in naturally good food and beverage ingredients and solutions, launched their largest-ever joint cocoa agroforestry partnership to reduce carbon emissions and combat deforestation.
Across all three locations, farmers will be trained and supported to convert their farms to agroforestry and implement crop residue management with a series of comprehensive training and educational exercises.
By focusing on the benefits of agroforestry and carbon capture, the aim is to plant over 2.8 million trees and cultivate more than 72,000 hectares of agroforestry as part of a transition to regenerative agriculture. The initiative is estimated to cut more than 1.5 million tons of CO2 over the next 30 years from these activities.
Darrell High, Nestlé’s Cocoa Plan manager, said, “People are at the heart of our climate actions. We’re working with ofi to help farmers transition to climate-smart farming practices. By supporting a move towards a more regenerative food system, we can continue to build a more responsible cocoa supply chain and progress towards our shared climate goals for 2030 and beyond.”
The global partnership builds on 15 years of Nestlé and ofi collaborating on sustainable cocoa and is their largest joint agroforestry initiative to date.
It is designed to support Nestlé’s Cocoa Plan and 2050 Net Zero targets while also contributing towards ofi’s Cocoa Compass sustainability ambition, which introduced new targets for regenerative agriculture. These feed into ofi’s overarching sustainability strategy, Choices for Change, with a vision of being the preferred partner for positive change.
Anthony Myers
Spanning Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire, and Brazil, approximately 25,000 farmers will be supported in transitioning to climate-smart farming over five years in each country by implementing agroforestry and crop residue management practices. These activities will be monitored until 2055, with ofi’s carbon footprinting experts estimating they can cut carbon emissions by 1.5 million tons of CO2 over the next 30 years.
The project will be third-party verified, from the nursery to the farm. The baselines for these activities have been established using ofi’s AI-powered Carbon Stock Monitoring tool. They will be used continuously to track the geolocation of the trees and ensure they are growing in compliance with the objectives set out by Nestlé and ofi.
Andrew Brooks, Global Head of Cocoa Sustainability, ofi said: “We are thrilled to partner with Nestlé on this global climate action initiative. Together, we’re addressing climate challenges by putting farmers at the center of the solution. Collaborating closely with cocoa communities, we can support farmers in adapting and mitigating climate change and help strengthen the supply of sustainable cocoa ingredients.”
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