European legislators under the auspices of Responsible Business Conduct Working Group of the European Parliament have written to the European Commission to commence talks with Ivory Coast and Ghana to address poor cocoa pricing.
Earlier in the year, Ghana and Ivory Coast which accounts for two-thirds of the world’s cocoa, called on the E.U to join them in creating an economic pact boost living wages for cocoa farmers.
Low prices paid for cocoa are a main drivers of deforestation and child labour in the sector, which are of concern to the EU as it seeks to prevent imports of commodities linked to environmental and human rights abuses. Most cocoa farmers in these countries live in dire straits, earning well under $1 a day.
“We urge the Commission to rapidly engage in formal negotiations with the governments of Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana with the aim of reaching an Economic Pact for Sustainable Cocoa,” said the letter.
The deal would entail an agreement between all parties on what to do to resolve the low price of cocoa and manage cocoa supply to prevent market shocks, it said.
The E.U is the leading destination for Ivorian cocoa, accounting for about 67% of the country’s exports.
However, a newly proposed E.U law could force cocoa traders to drop some suppliers because they use unethical practices.
“In view of the environmental and social provisions implemented by the EU and many other countries in term of regulations, an ‘Economic Pact’ is now necessary… in order to satisfy the first condition of sustainability,” said Alex Assanvo, head of the Ivory Coast-Ghana Cocoa Initiative, set up by both governments.
Both countries in 2019 imposed a “living income” premium on all cocoa purchases in order to raise farmers’ wages, but they said last year that traders were not paying it.
In Nigeria, some cocoa farmers in Ofosu community, Ondo State South west Nigeria, staged a protest Monday, against the alleged plan to sell their farmland to a foreign company.
The protesters marched to the Lagos-Benin Expressway saying the state government planned to sell their farmland to the foreign company, which would affect their means of livelihood.
The protesters carried placards with inscriptions: ‘Respect our right to livelihood’, ‘Don’t give our land to mindless capitalists’, ‘We want to remain farmers and not armed robbers’, ‘No farmers, no nation’, ‘Please, don’t take our farms’, ‘Have mercy in us; don’t take our farms’, among others.
They pleaded with the government to show mercy on them as they had been paying their dues to government agencies for farming on the government forest for many years.
They pleaded with the government to show mercy on them as they had been paying their dues to government agencies for farming on the government forest for many years.
One of the protesters stated that farmers occupied 74 camps on 20,000 acres of land, adding that he personally paid N6million as dues for farming on the land to the state internally generated revenue agency in 202.
