Cargill in partnership with Hershey for “Learn to Grow Ivory Coast” programme

The Hershey Company announced today a new three-year program expanding its cocoa farmer training and community initiatives in Ivory Coast, the world’s largest cocoa producing country. In partnership with Cargill, “Hershey Learn to Grow Ivory Coast” will encompass seven farmer cooperatives and will include investments in educational infrastructure and teacher housing. Through Hershey Learn to Grow Ivory Coast, 10,000 cocoa farmers will be trained in agricultural and social practices that are independently audited and certified against the UTZ Certified standard. By doing so, those farmers will benefit by receiving higher premium payments for their cocoa. Farmers will also realize long-term improvements to their cocoa harvests by improving aging farms through good agricultural practices. Rejuvenating cocoa farms requires long-term investments by the growers, cooperatives and cocoa companies.

The Hershey Learn to Grow Ivory Coast program will provide participating Ivory Coast cocoa farmers with a market channel for certified cocoa while they improve their farms. Hershey is expanding its Learn to Grow farmer training model from established programs in Ghana and Nigeria. The Ivory Coast project is being implemented with Cargill, a Hershey cocoa supplier, with an established network of farm associations in Ivory Coast where Cargill both sources and processes cocoa. Hershey and Cargill have previously collaborated on CocoaLink, a program that uses mobile technology to connect cocoa farmers in Ghana with information about good farming practices, labour safety and crop marketing.

www.thehersheycompany.com