Skip to content
Search
AI Powered
Latest Stories

Nestle to pay cocoa growers to keep children in school

Nestle will start paying cocoa farmers cash if they send their children to school rather than out to tend crops as part of a push to purchase all of its cocoa through a fully traceable, directly sourced supply chain by 2025.

Chocolate makers are coming under mounting pressure from investors, consumers and governments to make sure the cocoa beans they source were not produced using child labour or in illegal cocoa plantations in protected forests, both of which are common in West Africa.


The food group behind KitKat chocolate bars and Smarties confectionery said it will triple its current annual spending on sustainable cocoa to give a total investment of 1.3 billion Swiss francs (£1.05bn) by 2030.

“Our goal is to have an additional tangible, positive impact on a growing number of cocoa-farming families, especially in areas where poverty is widespread and resources are scarce, and to help close the living income gap they face over time,” said Mark Schneider, Nestlé chief exedcutive.

A recent survey by the University of Chicago found that among children in agricultural households in Ivory Coast and Ghana cocoa growing areas 45% were engaged in child labour.

To qualify for the payments, farmers have to send their children to school, prune cocoa trees, plant shade trees and diversify their income with other crops or livestock.

To check that children really are attending school and farmers are following the rules, IDH, The Sustainable Trade Initiative, will monitor the programme with other third parties.

Children casually helping on family farms outside of school time do not fall under the International Labour Organization's definition of child labour.

The sustainability schemes chocolate makers have used to date have had limited success in tackling human rights and environmental issues in cocoa, and Western governments are now looking to legislate.

Nestle said 51 per cent of the cocoa it used in 2021 was directly sourced and traceable, versus 46 per cent in 2020. By 2025, it wants to be able to trace 100 per cent of its cocoa back to specific farms under its in-house sustainability scheme, the Nestle Cocoa Plan.

Under the new programme, farmers will receive direct cash payments via mobile transfer of up to 500 francs a year, which Batato said represented 20-25 per cent of a farmer's average annual income. The incentive will then be levelled at 250 francs after two years and progressively extended to all of Nestle's 160,000 cocoa farmers by 2030.

Unlike current premiums that are paid per tonne and can encourage overproduction, Nestle, which used over 436,000 tonnes of cocoa in total in 2020, said it would pay farmers and their spouses directly, independently of volumes produced.

“Our actions can help catalyze change on an important topic that is so close to our hearts. They will drive accountability and transparency across the industry, at a time when customers, employees and communities increasingly expect companies to deliver on their shared values,” said Magdi Batato, Executive Vice President and Head of Operations.

Nestle is going to launch KitKat products next year made with cocoa from farms that received cash incentives and Von Maillot said the company's efforts might ultimately lead to higher prices for consumers.

The VOICE Network, a global grouping of non-governmental organisations and trade unions working on sustainability in cocoa, said Nestle's cash transfer plan was "a big step forward".

It added however, that cash transfers were not a substitute for a commitment to paying a fair overall price for the bean and farmers were still vulnerable to low world market prices.

More for you

Johnson & Johnson office

Johnson & Johnson office in Irvine, California

Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images

Johnson & Johnson risks UK lawsuit over talc cancer claim

UK claimants announced Wednesday legal action against US pharmaceutical and cosmetics giant Johnson & Johnson, alleging that women diagnosed with cancers were exposed to asbestos in the company's talcum powder.

J&J risks UK court action for the first time over the allegations, having faced a series of similar lawsuits in North America.

Keep ReadingShow less
Glebe Farm Foods: 'best-in-class' for Food Safety Standards

Glebe Farm Foods: 'best-in-class' for Food Safety Standards

Glebe Farm Foods has announced that its site has been awarded AA+ grade following the recent unannounced audit against the BRCGS V9 standard.

The BRCGS Global Food Safety Standard is a globally recognised certification program designed to ensure the safety, quality, legality and authenticity of food products. This was the first unannounced audit for the site and included all the production facilities; de-hulling, flaking and flour, oat drink manufacturing and Tetrapak filling, and new to the scope was the manufacturing and packing of Granola.

Keep ReadingShow less
InPost launches Locker Shops in key urban areas

InPost launches Locker Shops in key urban areas

InPost, the leading provider of parcel locker solutions, has announced the next phase in its rapid expansion with the opening of new Locker Shops in key urban areas. Following the success of its first Locker Shop in Camden, InPost is accelerating its Locker Shop opening programme and targeting hyper urban areas where there is huge demand for its lockers to provide greater access to its parcel locker network.

Kicking off with new locations in London, including Liverpool Street and London Bridge in 2024, as well as Manchester and further London locations from 2025 as part of a strategic rollout.

Keep ReadingShow less
Strong numbers for Britvic

Strong numbers for Britvic

Britvic, the soft drinks manufacturer set to be acquired by Carlsberg, has posted robust annual results after investment in marketing and product innovation helped it maintain demand for its brands.

Over the year to Sept 30, the company’s pre-tax profits climbed 10.5 per cent to £173.2 million despite a £21.3m hit related to the proposed Carlsberg deal. Britvic stated that its growth was driven by both volume and price-mix, with strong demand for brands such as Pepsi, Tango, Lipton, MiWadi and Ballygowan.

Keep ReadingShow less
Met Police identifies four suspects in Post Office Horizon scandal

Met Police identifies four suspects in Post Office Horizon scandal

The Metropolitan Police has identified two new suspects in its investigation into possible criminal offences as part of the Post Office Horizon scandal. This takes the total number of individuals to four as the force also revealed it believes more suspects will be identified as the inquiry progresses.

Scotland Yard said members of the investigation team met with Sir Alan Bates, the leading Post Office campaigner, and fellow victims to update them on the development.

Keep ReadingShow less