Candy Dish Blog

Andy McCormick of The Hershey Company paid a visit to Ghana farming villages late last fall. A report on his experiences was published yesterday in the Lancaster, PA newspaper and we thought you might like to read it.

Nearly 20 years ago Andy was a Peace Corps volunteer in rural Ghana where he taught science and English and coached a high school basketball team. During Andy’s tenure from 1982-84 the schools operated only half of the time because of lack of food. Medical clinics were shuttered and the government was unstable. “There were hungry children everywhere,” he notes.

Much has changed since 1982, according to Andy. Now Ghana is blessed with international business investment, highway projects and opportunities to attend schools throughout Ghana. Andy has kept in contact with a former student, Adjei, who is a skilled rice farmer with several employees to help with planting, weeding and harvesting his five acres. Adjei and his family grow most of their own food, including the potato-like cassava, plantains, mangoes, pine nuts, okra and tilapia, a fish which is a great source of protein for his family and others.

His house is fortified against malaria-carrying mosquitoes and his five children attend school in the village. Still, the family home does not have electricity and nor does the family own a car or even a bicycle.

Adjei and his family live a life similar to cocoa farming families in Ghana. Life has improved greatly but hardships remain. Like Hershey, NCA supports a program through Family Health International in support of educational efforts to control malaria infections. Malaria is the most frequent cause of consultation and hospitalization in Ghana. NCA’s program also works to educate cocoa growing communities on causes and prevention of HIV/AIDS, as 17 percent of all confirmed cases of AIDS in Ghana are individuals involved in the agriculture sector.

Throughout cocoa growing areas of Ghana there are ongoing efforts to educate community members on better farming methods to improve crops as well as to ensure safe labor practices, preventative health measures, and better more accessible school education. These efforts are sponsored by NGOs such as the World Cocoa Foundation and the International Cocoa Initiative, the government of Ghana, the U.S. and European governments, and individual chocolate and cocoa companies.

Let us know if you or your company are involved in efforts to assist cocoa growing communities. We’ll be happy to let our blog readers know.

Cocoa Grower by SidewalkSundays.

As you pass out treats to children in the U.S. who dress as ghosts and goblins on Halloween night you might be interested to know that cocoa farmers are finding ways to increase their incomes and provide better lives for their children.

Late last week Nestle, among the largest purchasers of cocoa beans in the world with operations in 32 countries, announced a  “Cocoa Plan” to help improve cocoa farmer profitability and cocoa bean quality.  The plan includes  providing farmers with better varieties of cocoa  trees, farmer education to help farmers become more profitable and buying co-ops to provide farmer services and allow group (more profitable) pricing for farmers.  Nestle will invest $109 million in these  ”sustainability initiatives” for the cocoa sector in the next decade.

To quote Nestle’s excellent new website on The Cocoa Plan, “Without farmers, there’d be no cocoa.  Without cocoa, there’d be no chocolate.  Cocoa farmers are the vital start-point and they can benefit considerably from our help.”

Nestle joins a growing list of companies making substantial commitments to cocoa farming.  Mars has announced that the company has pledged to purchase 100,000 tons of sustainably grown certified cocoa by 2020.  We did an earlier blog on Cadbury’s Fair Trade chocolate initiative in the U.K. where all Cadbury milk chocolate bars will be certified Fair Trade, increasing the amount of Fair Trade chocolate sold in the U.K. by 25 percent over 2008.

The World Cocoa Foundation last week announced the launch of its Cocoa Livelihoods program in Ghana.  The program, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and 12 chocolate companies, is expected to improve the livelihoods of nearly 60,000 farmers in Ghana over the next 5 years.  “Making real progress against hunger and poverty starts with small farmers,” explains Richard Rogers of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The goals of these initiatives are similar; they work to ensure that cocoa farm families have greater opportunities for economic development.  Along the way they encourage access to quality education for children and adults.  It’s a good goal for children of cocoa farmers, farmers themselves, the cocoa companies and consumers of chocolate everywhere.

Cocoa Beans by Nestlé.

I was very excited to receive an email from Cadbury Chief Executive Officer Todd Stitzer a couple of days ago. Todd wanted to tell me, and probably thousands of others, that Cadbury has raised the competitive bar of social responsibility chocolates by launching Fairtrade Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate bars into the United Kingdom chocolate bar market. The bars are now available in 200,000 stores across England and Ireland and will increase the value of of U.K. Fairtrade sales by around 25% over 2008 sales. Cadbury’s fairtrade bars are being made available at no extra cost.

Cadbury already sells Fair Trade and/or organic chocolates in the U.S. under the Green and Black’s label but their Dairy Milk Chocolate is not a big seller here. Todd noted in his email that Cadbury is making a substantial investment in sustainable cocoa growing communities and has a long history of social responsibiltiy.

What Mr. Spitzer (I feel a little too forward with this first name basis stuff) says is true. In fact, it’s true for a number of chocolate makers. Hershey’s history of social responsibility begins with the 100 year old Milton Hershey School. Mars has a long history of supporting cocoa communities and ensuring that cocoa is grown in an environmentally friendly manner. And the World Cocoa Foundation, founded in 2000, is supported by more than 70 companies and trade associations, including NCA. WCF programs raise farmer incomes, encourage responsible, sustainable cocoa farming and strengthen communities.

This announcement makes me feel good about the companies for whom I work. Do you want to try Fair Trade certified Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate?

Cadbury Chocolate by Tasumi1968.

Yesterday we invited Washington, DC area food and lifestyle reporters to see our new Georgetown offices, share a meal with us and exchange information about trends in candy, chocolate, cocoa and gum.

There was much conversation around our community table. The chocolate and cocoa related conversation went like this:

• Top rated entree of the day: Cocoa, rosemary and soy marinated tenderloin of beef. This dish was proof that cocoa is a welcome addition to the entire dinner table, not just dessert.
• Chocolate is America’s favorite flavor (vanilla is #2) with Americans relatively evenly split between a love for dark or milk chocolate.
• Sweet and savory combinations are mighty fine. We sampled bacon, brie and chipotle filled truffles–one of each.
• Interested pairings are making their mark, such as chili, lavender, sesame, green tea infused chocolates.
• Chocolate and cocoa are international foods. Cocoa was celebrated by the ancient Mayans over 2000 years ago. Cocoa trees are grown in small communities in very hot humid climates near the Equator in West Africa, Asia and Latin America. Chocolate or cocoa are immensely popular in the Americas, nearly all European countries and there is growing interest in Asia where green tea and chocolate are popular combinations.
• Cocoa trees are delicate, requiring the loving care of the farm families who tend them. They are susceptible to pests and diseases and need careful pruning and constant attention to ensure a healthy tree. Most cocoa farm families grow other crops, such as hardwood trees, bananas, other fruits, cassava and plaintain to provide shade for the cocoa trees as well as a year round income for the families, since there are only two cocoa harvests a year.
• Definitive research shows that cocoa butter, the natural fat in the cocoa bean, does not raise blood cholesterol levels in the body. (Cocoa beans, by the way, are a fruit and grow inside pods shaped like footballs from the trunks of cocoa trees.)
• Chocolate, in particular dark chocolate, and cocoa contain flavanols, a type of antioxidant which can affect good cardiovascular health.
• Our experts predict that additional research will show a positive effect on blood pressure and mood (we don’t really need the experts to tell us chocolate makes us happy!).
• The antioxidant properties of the cocoa bean make it a beneficial addition to many skin and beauty care products such as lotion, anti-aging creams, soaps and shampoos.

We had a great time and hope our guests did, too. We hope some of you will be able to join us at our table in the future. In the meantime we know that really, almost everyone is a chocolate expert. What chocolate trends are you willing to predict?

I thought you might be interested in an article from the Mother Nature Network detailing the efforts of many favorite chocolate makers to assist cocoa farm families who reside in the tropical climates of West Africa, Latin America and Asia.

Cocoa is a fragile crop and for those of us in love with chocolate — even in the summertime — it makes sense to learn a little about its most basic ingredient.

The article notes the surprise of visitors to Nigeria from Indiana who learn that harvesting cocoa is not mechanized as it is in the U.S.’s farm belt but instead is “long, tedious and always done by hand.”

Various efforts to teach the “arts” of pruning, mulching, pest management, biodiversity, intercropping and proper child labor practices are described, all with the goal of helping to improve the livelihoods of the farmers and give them the power of decision making and control over their small farms.

Cocoa trees are fruit trees and many efforts involve encouraging inter-cropping or growing cocoa alongside avocados, teak, black pepper, bananas and other crops. Intercropping provides additional income and helps sustain healthy soil for the crops to flourish.

NCA supports one of the organizations mentioned in the article — the World Cocoa Foundation — with its projects around the globe tailored to “address specific troubles” faced by cocoa farm families.

Cacao Tree by kalyan3.

I’ve written previous posts on the great work our sister organization, the World Cocoa Foundation, is doing to help support cocoa communities in cocoa growing regions around the world. In particular we at NCA are proud of a program we support through WCF which aims to improve the health of rural cocoa farm families through community education and activities related to HIV/AIDS and malaria.

With a prevalence rate of 4.7%, Cote d’Ivoire, whose farmers grow more cocoa than any other nation, is one of the most HIV/AIDS affected countries in West Africa. The program, implemented by Family Health International and the Sustainable Tree Crops Program is in several cocoa growing communities in eastern Cote d’Ivoire. During one recent session the project’s impact on individual lives became clear.

Mrs. Kouame, 35, of Zamaka, Cote d’Ivoire is married with 5 children. As part of the educational sessions she met two female guest speakers who were HIV positive. “I could not believe my eyes and ears!” said Mrs. Kouame. “Nothing in the appearance of these ladies suggested they could possibly be infected with the virus.” Like many others Mrs. Kouame was skeptical that HIV could be in her village. She believed that only people who looked thin and sickly could be living with HIV.

The guest speakers were a wake up call to Mrs. Kouame who decided to be tested for HIV through the program NCA supports. Mrs. Kouame, mother of 5 dependent children, learned she was HIV positive. “When my results were announced, for a moment I thought my life had stopped,” she said. “But today I can say with hope, that under the shade of the cocoa trees, in the farmer field school, I was born once again. I am HIV positive, but I am one step ahead of the disease. With this knowledge, I can do a better job of planning my life and taking care of my family with the support of my husband.”

To date, this project has reached more than 2,000 people; 110,000 male and female condoms have been distributed. Five other people in Zamaka tested positive for HIV on the same day Mrs. Kouame learned of her status and all are receiving care and treatment. Education is powerful and this small program is saving lives.

Cocoa Pod by Endangered Species Chocolate.

Many kids first learn the source of cocoa in 3rd grade when world history and culture kicks in for the first time and they study Ghana. Ghana is the 2nd largest cocoa producing country in the world. In the last few years single origin chocolates have become popular, following coffee and wine in this regard. What many people don’t realize is that fully 70% of all cocoa comes from West Africa; cocoa is West Africa’s largest agricultural export with nearly two million small farmers growing the crop.

But cocoa farmers often lack practical knowledge and organizational support (like co-ops) to help them make a good living from the crop. Two programs are helping to make a difference though. One, just announced today, is a $40 million partnership between the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and NCA’s sister organization, the World Cocoa Foundation. Over the next years this partnership will help more than 200,000 cocoa farmers in West Africa increase their incomes and improve the well-being of cocoa communities. NCA members The Hershey Company, Kraft Foods, Mars, Incorporated, ADM Cocoa, Barry Callebaut and Blommer Chocolate Company are contributing $17 million in cash and in-kind contributions to the effort.

A small but mighty program by comparison, NCA has partnered with the World Cocoa Foundation and Family Health International to incorporate malaria and HIV/AIDS awareness training into field schools for farmers in the Ivory Coast and Ghana. The Ivory Coast is the country most affected by HIV/AIDS in West Africa. HIV/AIDS and malaria particularly are prevalent in rural areas of both countries. If you would like more information on cocoa, let us know.