Red alert: a super El Niño needs super cocoa farmers
A super El Niño is heading for West Africa and beyond..and cocoa farmers are on the front line.
They’ll be hit hard by this phenomenon, fighting relentlessly unpredictable weather conditions. The Avengers could never. But we won’t just applaud them or stand idly by..
Oh yes, every hero needs a sidekick.
but hold up.. what even is an El Niño.. ?
Excellent question! Let’s roll it back. El Niño is a natural climate pattern that returns every few years, disrupting weather around the world. But this time, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts a really high chance (>90%) of a very strong event during the coming autumn + winter seasons. That’s why it’s called a super El Niño.. Yikes!
In Ghana + Côte d’Ivoire, weather will also turn extreme. Heat will rise. Rain will fall.. or not. And in its path? Cocoa harvests, with farmers facing lower yields and greater uncertainty.
oh no, not my cocoa!
Yepppp, cocoa beans are suuuper sensitive to changing temperatures and rainfall, which means increasingly unpredictable weather is a growing problem.
About 60% of the world’s cocoa comes from West Africa, from Ghana + Côte d’Ivoire. And all this cocoa is grown by around 2.5 million smallholder cocoa farmers.
In Côte d’Ivoire, cocoa farmers are entering this uncertainty with the newly announced farmgate price still 32% (!!) below the Living Income Reference Price, limiting their ability to invest in their farms + build resilience for the future.
This super El Niño may be the industry’s immediate wake-up call, yet the challenge facing cocoa goes way beyond any single weather event. But as climate uncertainty grows, building a resilient future for cocoa has never been more important.
that’s where you come in
To invest in their farms, families and the future of chocolate, cocoa farmers *need* to be able to earn a living income. That’s why – besides many other things – Tony’s has consistently paid farmers a price that enables them to do just that. And we’ll continue to do so. Not just this season, but every season to come.. Even as the national cocoa price remains 32% (!) below the Living Income Reference Price in Côte d’Ivoire, as announced just last month.
And every time you enjoy our chunky choco, you’re joining the fight, together with farmers. 🤝
Bar by bar, bite by bite.
Tastes chunking good, eh?
Psst! Are you a cocoa-sourcing company ready to join the fight with farmers? Join Tony’s Open Chain, our global initiative for change. And let’s build a more resilient cocoa supply chain, together.
