Cocoa farmers from West Africa have renewed calls for greater inclusion in the price-setting process and more flexible mechanisms to reflect the realities of cocoa production.
The appeal was made at the close of a strategic four-day workshop held from June 15 to 19, 2025, in Yamoussoukro, Ivory coast, bringing together key civil society stakeholders from both Ivory coast and Ghana.
The meeting, organized by the Ivorian Platform for Sustainable Cocoa (PICD) and the Ghana Civil-society Cocoa Platform (GCCP), focused on deepening collaboration across the cocoa value chain. The workshop aimed to strengthen the joint efforts of the two platforms under the banner of the African Civil Society Platform for Sustainable Cocoa, an alliance created in 2022 to advocate for the sustainable development of the sector and the attainment of a living income for farmers.
In a joint statement, the platforms emphasized the need to address the longstanding income gap affecting cocoa producers. “We acknowledge that the gap between the current international market price and the farm-gate price is too wide, and concerted efforts are required to close it,” the statement read.
The alliance is currently developing a publication that evaluates the real cost of cocoa production across various producing countries. This research is intended to support advocacy efforts for a price floor that is not solely dependent on the volatility of global markets, but grounded in the actual economic realities faced by farmers.
The workshop also outlined priorities in three additional focus areas: environmental sustainability, child labour, and governance.
On sustainability, the alliance reiterated its support for the African Regional Standard (ARS-1000) and the European Union’s anti-deforestation regulation, while calling on governments to ensure that compliance does not further burden farmers financially.
Addressing the persistent issue of child labour, the platform called for a culturally sensitive and inclusive approach that goes beyond monitoring systems, urging deeper engagement with civil society and producer communities.
On governance, the alliance pushed for greater transparency in cocoa sector oversight, including the establishment of high-level, multi-stakeholder supervisory councils similar to the one already operating in Ghana.
With growing international attention on ethical and sustainable sourcing, the African Civil Society Platform for Sustainable Cocoa continues to position itself as a central actor advocating for farmer-centred reforms, working towards a future where cocoa farming is not only sustainable but also profitable for the communities that drive it.
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