Mondelēz said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Côte d'Ivoire's Ministry of Environment as part of the country's REDD+ program.
It has also signed a letter of intent with the Forestry Commission of Ghana and the UN Development Program to establish a REDD+ partnership in Ghana to reach the deforestation reduction goal.
These two countries account for more than 60% of the world’s cocoa supply, but they recently have been affected by a sharp drop of cocoa prices, according to International Cocoa Initiative.
Deforestation reduction strategies
Upon the agreement, Cocoa Life and Côte d'Ivoire's Ministry of Environment will create a forest protection map, land use plan and tracking system to identify deforestation risks and opportunities to restore forest cover in the Nawa region, according to a release.
Cocoa Life will also promote agricultural practices to enable farmers to improve productivity, adopt agro-forestry systems and free up land for other crops or reforestation, the release said.
In Ghana, Cocoa Life is working to enhance farmers’ access to cocoa production technologies, Mondelēz’s spokesperson, Jane Corcoran, told ConfectioneryNews.
Mondelēz did not comment on its production volume and cocoa prices in these regions. But the executive director at UTZ Certified, Han de Groot, previously said the minimum cocoa prices in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana are fixed by their governments, and they adjust them every few months based on the fluctuating global cocoa prices.
Corcoran said there is no time frame for Cocoa Life to reach its deforestation reduction goal, as deforestation and climate change are cross-cutting focus areas within the program.