DAVID GUBA KPELLE PROGRAMME DIRECTOR AFRICA COCOA COALITION davidkpelle@yahoo.co.uk

1. PRESPECTIVE FROM CIVIL SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON CERTIFICATIONDOUALA, CAMEROON, 24 – 27 JUNE, 2013 DAVID GUBA KPELLE PROGRAMME DIRECTOR AFRICA COCOA COALITION davidkpelle@yahoo.co.uk 233 244 266044

2. PRESENTATION FORMAT • Background • Opportunities • Challenges; and • Recommendations

3. BACKGROUND • ACC Mission: to ensure equitable returns to all stakeholders along the cocoa value chain • Stakeholder Dialogue : National Roundtable on Sustainable Cocoa Economy in Ghana 2010 • Capacity building for farmer organization • Advocate for improvement in farmer livelihood, gender equality and women’s empowerment

4. OPPORTUNITIES • Certification: assurance that both the quality and production process meet specified requirements (social, economic, environmental) • WSSD: reduce unsustainable production and consumption patterns • Stakeholder collaboration: sustainable development initiatives • CSOs identify with the issues

5. OPPORTUNITIES • Formation of viable farmer groups • Enhance capacity of Farmer Organizations: e.g Kuapa Kokoo and Conservation Int (CI; 2000); • Dialogue with COCOBOD to secure buy-in; • Facilitate of Validation of farm practices (FFS) • Endorsement by Cocoa Research Inst (CRIG)

6. OPPORTUNITIES • Participation in the development of standards • Operate in remote and inaccessible areas • Certification not the only tool! Quality &Process • Training and capacity building prog on sustainability • Farmer Field School (FFS) • Effective extension system based on Good Agricultural Best Practices • Remunerative prices for cocoa beans • Living wages for farm labor

7. CHALLENGES • Other tried and tested tools exist • Health and safety: national vrs export • Governance structure • Cost of compliance to the producer • Illiteracy and record-keeping • Scaling up to meet demand • Prove of impact on productivity and livelihood; • Multi-certification vrs Harmonization • Limited markets and market information • Transparency of operations

8. RECOMMENDATIONS ICCO should collaborate with national cocoa organizations to ensure the following priorities: • Policy framework for certification • Promotion of Cooperative Business Concept • Scaling up: Industry should fund Gov’t and NGO capacity building initiatives for producers • Effective extension systems should be promoted • Harmonize standards to reduce implementation cost • Transparency: operations of standard bodies • Certification and elimination of child labor

9. RECOMMENDATIONS • Gender: promote women’s empowerment and gender equality • Improvement in Energy and Greenhouse Gas indices to reduce impact of climate change • Strengthen biodiversity conservation; • Promote living wages; • Contracts between buyers and sellers to safeguard farmers’ interest and market access; • Safeguard against loss of quality and income • Provide access to credit (sustainability fund)

10. RECOMMENDATIONS To improve performance-based assessment certification bodies should • Provide information on impact on productivity • Provide prove as to how they are contributing to the achievement of each of the three pillars of sustainability (social, economic and environmental • Uphold national legislation if higher standards • Ensure effective communication on how they are contributing to sustainable development

11. Trends in the cocoa sector with mainstream certification Social Movement NGOs Government Development agencies Trade unions Cocoa Boards + Extension services Consumers Decreasing input $$$$ 20% of annual budget to marketing Industry Provide funding for Standard bodies Standards bodies Producers Current trend is that the money for development and capacity building is mainly directed to the standards bodies. That means, less money is available for the Social Movement agencies to provide broader capacity building for farmers. RECOMMENDATIONS

12. CONCLUSION Certification: leverage market forces to reward sustainable production. However current efforts in this direction is grossly inadequate. To enhance movement towards sustainability there is the urgent need for collaboration with civil society in advocacy, capacity building, farmer group formation initiatives to scale up to cover a greater part of the producers.

13. Thank You