GEPABIO - Conducting a feasibility study on further conversion of conventional cocoa organic and fair trade cocoa in Côte d'Ivoire

For the past ten years, Inades Formation-Côte d'Ivoire has been committed to the conversion of conventional cocoa production into organic and fairtrade cocoa. As part of its commitment, it supported the Société Coopérative Equitable du Bandama (SCEB) in Tiassalé to manage the conversion of their production to organic production. Today, the SCEB markets 100 tonnes of certified organic and fair trade cocoa in France

In order to promote an extension of organic production in the cocoa sector in Côte d'Ivoire, and given the interest given by GEPA to establish a commercial relationship with cooperatives interested in producing the organic and fair trade cocoa particularly from Côte d'Ivoire, a tripartite collaboration between INADES-Formation, GEPA and MISEREOR has been concluded. Such collaboration in the context of a conversion from conventional production to organic appears all the more important as, without a guaranteed/assured sales market, a conversion turns out to be too risky for the producers of the cocoa

A1. Analyze the regulatory and legal framework in the cocoa sector in relation to the production, processing and export of various cocoa products and by-products
A2. Analyze the adequacy of the various existing certification systems at the level of cooperatives that want to engage in commercial collaboration with GEPA and their compatibility with GEPA requirements
A3. Analyze the expertise accumulated by Inades Formation-Côte d'Ivoire in supporting cooperatives to convert their production to organic and fair trade standards
A4. Take stock of the level of cooperative members who are ready to convert their conventional cocoa production into organic production
A5. Make recommendations for the conversion phase
A6. Jointly with the converting cooperatives (and taking the case of the SCEB as a reference), carry out a technical and economic analysis at the producer level
A7. Analyze the interests of the various stakeholders in the value-chain and the factors possibly compromising good collaboration between professionals and cooperatives
A8. Based on the results of the investigations, formulate recommendations and actions to be taken by the various parties involved