It’s around a cup of coffee or tea in a relaxed atmosphere that we enjoy chatting, debating and sharing with friends and colleagues. Cafés are networking spaces where we create connections, and at times, strategic places for the blooming of creative and innovative ideas.
On the 30th of September, our colleagues Yvonne and Hilda hosted a café conversation session at the ANDE Annual Conference. The objective? To offer a welcoming environment encouraging in-depth discussions around “youth as drivers of change in small and growing businesses and ecosystems” and to build bridges between the participants.
Young people are dynamic, energetic, buzzing with fresh and innovative ideas. How can actors in the food supply chain exploit their enormous, often untapped, potential and create ecosystems embracing their power?
As part of the Beyond Chocolate initiative, Lidl, Fairtrade, Rikolto and Kuapa Kokoo Cooperative (KKFU) are working together to tackle child labour, combat deforestation and ensure a viable income for local cocoa producers in the region where almost 70% of global cocoa production is sourced. The poverty level among cocoa smallholder farmers is high, and a cocoa farm only generates income 5 years after it has been established. Young people are discouraged from betting on a long-term investment commodity with low returns.
However, the cocoa sector has greater potential than it seems, also for youth. Even though Ghana is one of the world’s biggest cocoa suppliers, its productivity in the cocoa sector is among the world’s lowest. Rikolto coaches farmers to apply good agricultural practices to increase yield from their productions and ensure the sustainability of the process. The additional premium paid for a sustainable and quality product, together with income diversification (production of rice, honey, soap etc.), guarantee higher incomes for farmers. Rikolto and its partners are collecting evidence to bring young people on board. Moreover, the lack of quality input providers in the sector opens up big business opportunities for youth. Rikolto support them to set up their business through training and advising and by facilitating their access to finance and markets.
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