Fairtrade Africa presses cocoa industry to close living income gap

Fairtrade Africa urged a more united approach within the cocoa industry to address the living income gap that continues to plague cocoa farmers despite low market prices and increasing production. This plea emerged during the Fair-Trade Africa Change Day 2026, where Fairtrade-certified farmers, workers, traders, development partners, and other stakeholders gathered to discuss ongoing market access issues, evaluate advancements in enhancing farmers' livelihoods, and explore solutions to the challenges faced.

The event followed the introduction of new Fairtrade Living Income Reference Prices for cocoa, which serve as a benchmark for the income farmers should receive to maintain a decent standard of living. For Ghana, this reference price is set at GH¢45.40 per kilogramme, approximately US$3.95, representing a 10 per cent increase since the previous price.

In Côte d’Ivoire, the reference price is 1,758 CFA francs per kilogramme, roughly US$3.11, marking a 47 per cent increase. At the Change Day, Benjamin Kouame, the former Chair of Fairtrade Africa, emphasized the need for collective action and ongoing progress monitoring. "We are here today with our partners to make a point and to check where we commenced, evaluate where we have gotten to, look at the difficulties and challenges we’ve encountered and come up with solutions to ensure that our activities are more sustainable," he stated.

Kouame stressed the importance of adopting an economic model that benefits farmers and workers financially, such as Fair Trade, which can be utilized for community development projects and improving farmers' capacity and resilience. Isaac Tongola, Fairtrade Africa's Executive Director, noted that the new Living Income Reference Prices offer a clear benchmark for buyers and other stakeholders aiming to create more sustainable cocoa supply chains.

"Fairtrade, through its standards, is setting that level, and then we can ask our partners, the traders, to buy at that level," he affirmed. The Living Income Reference Price is part of Fairtrade's broader strategy to support farmers, alongside the Fairtrade Standards, the Fairtrade Minimum Price, the Fairtrade Premium, and the Fairtrade Programmes.

While the Fairtrade Minimum Price acts as a safety net, ensuring buyers purchase at a price that covers production costs, the Fairtrade Premium provides an additional sum that farmers can reinvest in their businesses and communities. The Living Income Reference Price, however, represents a crucial benchmark for farmers and their households to achieve a minimum decent standard of living from cocoa production.

Tongola explained that this price ensures the farmers and their families can live a decent life from the sale of their cocoa beans. Fairtrade Africa has made progress through its West Africa Cocoa Programme, which has benefited over 48,000 farmers in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. The program has managed to reduce the poverty rate among beneficiaries to 17 per cent and increased the proportion earning a living income from 28 per cent to 48 per cent.

Nevertheless, considerable challenges persist in the cocoa sector. Stakeholders at the Change Day highlighted the necessity for stronger strategic partnerships and sustained investments to develop more resilient and commercially viable cocoa supply chains. Key areas of focus include enhancing quality and productivity, strengthening farmers' resistance to plant diseases that impact yields, and tackling the increasing cost of inputs.

Fairtrade Africa operates across 18 product categories and has achieved significant successes in forming stronger collaborations with stakeholders in their respective sectors under their recently launched three-year strategy.