[Focus on Chocolatiers] - Complexities of Complicity of Chocolatiers in smallholder cocoa farmers longstanding poor livelihood
Building on our discussion about the complexity of complicity among stakeholders in the cocoa sector and its impact on the persistently poor livelihoods of smallholder cocoa farmers, this article places a particular focus on chocolatiers. As key players, their role and influence warrant a closer examination in our ongoing scrutiny of the industry's dynamics.
In the global cocoa industry, the disparity between the thriving businesses of chocolatiers and the often-dire circumstances of cocoa farmers paints a simple portrait of systemic exploitation and negligence. This article aims to highlight the layers of industry rhetoric to reveal the underlying dynamics that perpetuate farmer disenfranchisement. I will seek to highlight the need for a recalibration of practices that currently benefit the few at the expense of the individual many, whom without, nothing can be called “Chocolate”. I mean the smallholder cocoa farmers.
Cocoa farming, central to the livelihoods of millions in developing countries, is frequently lauded in corporate social responsibility statements. Yet, beneath this façade of concern, the reality faced by farmers is one of manipulation and missed opportunities.
"In the world of cocoa, the cynicism endured by farmers is not just a characteristic of the chocolate but a residue of exploitation masked as support."
This article will attempt to navigate from the colonial roots of cocoa trade to the modern financialisation of commodities, which together create a pattern of disadvantage that is both historical and sharply relevant today. We will define key concepts and discover how intertwined policies and market practices continue to sideline those at the heart of cocoa production.
Colonial Legacy
The continuing legacy of colonialism in the cocoa industry has profoundly shaped the economic landscapes of many cocoa-producing countries, particularly those in West Africa. This impact extends beyond historical confines, actively perpetuating economic disparities and hindering the development of equitable trade practices.
Establishment of Colonial Cocoa Farms
During the colonial era, European powers ensured that farmers repurposed their lands to into extensive cocoa plantations in Africa, leveraging the continent’s rich biodiversity and favourable climatic conditions. These plantations were primarily aimed at maximising export potentials, focusing little on local economic development or the well-being of the indigenous populations. The primary objective was to enhance output and profit, which predominantly benefited the colonisers, enriching their economies at the significant expense of local development. I am sure most you my be asking “colonisers seeking profits”? yes, in the colonial era, colonies were companies, so we had the Royal African Company, which was the company focused on the trading interest of the English, overseen by the duke of York.
Farmers were frequently coerced into prioritising cocoa over subsistence crops, destabilising local food security and rendering the economies of these regions being heavily focused on using their fertile lands not to produce what they eat but produce to export for income that is not commensurate of the labour put in, the inflation in their respective country, etc. This dependency has perpetuated a legacy of vulnerability that continues to affect cocoa farmers today.
I recall my family telling me about how, school children in post-colonial Ghana were sometimes moved from the classroom to go and carry cocoa in bags to the port. A civil duty they were told. Something that may be shocking to a lot of readers.”
"The chains of exploitation in the cocoa fields were not just forged by force but by the forging of a global appetite that consumed without conscience."
The foundation of the colonial cocoa industry was laid on exploitative labour practices, including forced labour and unjustifiably low wages. Such practices have left a lasting imprint on the sector, where challenges such as child labour, underpayment, and poor working conditions persist. The historical exploitation has normalised a labour model that severely undervalues the work of cocoa farmers and exposes them to economic and social vulnerabilities. Example the Global division of labour where African countries were made to believe that they should focus on cocoa production because that is what they and their lands at excellent at while the machines development and chocolate manufacturing (Value addition) was to be retained in the west. This did not allow us including the farmers to even conceive that value addition as the west put it (anything beyond dried beans) was thought about. The further the colonist went was to make such value addition process and its jobs a reserve for the elites. This allow Ghanaian educated on west principles to be the propagators of this model, forgetting that it will come back to bite us soo badly. But before and after, know of these models was made to allow the farmer to benefit from regardless of it being embarked on by the colonialist or the post-Colonial elite Ghanaian.
You might wonder why I draw a connection between chocolatiers and colonialism when discussing the challenges faced by smallholder farmers. The intent of colonialism was primarily to
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