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Cargill Incorporated has joined 32 other companies, which together account for approximately 85% of global cocoa purchases and treatments, to unveil a common approach to fighting deforestation before finalizing their own plans.
Two years after the start of the global drive to fight deforestation, the world's largest cocoa producers and some of the largest chocolate manufacturers are reinforcing the specific steps they are taking to achieve their goal.
Cargill's move comes after Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire, which account for about 65 percent of global cocoa production, have issued plans to stem further losses and rehabilitate cocoa forests.
"This partnership with countries and other companies is part of Cargill's commitment to the future of the industry. Maintaining our forest cover is important not only because it serves as a foundation for the cocoa industry, but also at the heart of farmers' livelihoods, "said Lionel Soulard, General Manager, Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate, West Africa.
He added that "thanks to a number of initiatives that will be collectively supported by all of us, industry players, we hope to address the many complex social, economic and environmental challenges badociated with the phenomenon of deforestation and reduce considerably its impact for the future. "
Cocoa has been the backbone of several West African economies for decades, preventing export-dependent countries from tackling forest degradation.
While cocoa prices have beaten the competition for crops for many years until 2015, this has helped to increase production, often to the detriment of protected forests.
The Ivory Coast is where the problem is most pressing. Cocoa production has increased by more than 50% over the past decade, while forest cover has decreased by 17% from 2001 to 2017, according to the International Cocoa Organization and the World Cocoa Foundation.
As part of the published plan, the country aims to end deforestation and degradation by 2020, then begin a second phase that will last at least 10 years.
In Ghana, where forest cover declined by 13% between 2001 and 2017, the government's recently released plan follows a similar path for the period to 2020.
Ghana will initially focus on six areas with the highest deforestation rate of 2.5 million hectares. The nation will then deploy the initiative at the national level until 2043.
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