An article on the website of the Sustainable Cocoa Initiative reflects on a meeting of all the major heads of the cocoa industry in Petit Bondoukou, Côte d’Ivoire some years back to discuss collaboration on challenges facing the cocoa sector.

Through an initiative of the World Cocoa Foundation, they were visiting a site of the Vision for Change project, funded Mars, which is successful grafting new cocoa plants on old trees, with expertise provided by scientists from the World Agroforestry Centre. The technology is being transferred to cocoa farmers through a series of village cocoa centers.

Côte d’Ivoire is the largest cocoa producing country in the world, generating 40 per cent of the world’s production. It is estimated that if current trends continue in cocoa production, the industry will face a shortage of at least 1 million tons of cocoa by 2020. Sustainability initiatives such as Vision for Change hope to generate higher yields and improve the livelihoods of cocoa-growing communities.

Read the full story: An important moment for the cocoa industry at Petit Bondoukou

Read more about the Vision for Change partnership between the World Agroforestry Centre and Mars Inc: Building Sustainable Cocoa Communities in Cote d’Ivoire