In the world of cocoa, bittersweet and dark,
A tale unfolds, a question mark.
Chocolate's worth is vast, over $130 billion,
While cocoa cries, it's barely a million.
"Embeddedness," they say, "in the value chain,"
But beneath the surface, shadows remain.
"Colonization," a forceful past,
Has echoes that forever last.
"Colonial rulers," Dr. Kwame Nkrumah decries,
Created systems, far from wise.
In the name of progress, some opine,
But did they weave a twisted design?
"European influence," scholars proclaim,
Defines the cocoa-chocolate game.
From London's traders, beans they'd buy,
But never saw the farmer's sky.
"Sustainability," they tout with flair,
A façade? One might declare.
For EU policies, the truth does reveal,
Threatening nations, making them kneel.
"Tariff-free," they preach with grace,
Within their union's embrace.
But cocoa's heart, West Africa's fields,
Feel a different truth that rarely yields.
"Power dynamics," so well entrenched,
In a chain that seems unblanched.
Smallholder farmers, their struggle intense,
As embedded systems cause offence.
"Fairness," a word on many lips,
As cocoa's journey takes its twists.
Can producing nations ever hope,
To find their footing, truly cope?
So here we stand, in Cocoa's tale,
Intricate webs, a complex trail.
Questions arise, like whispers in the breeze,
Do we see through the veil of ease?
Are these sustainability claims sincere,
Or is the truth not crystal clear?
Embeddedness, like roots that bind,
Do we understand the ties that bind?
In the shadows of the cocoa tree,
Where power plays in secrecy,
Who truly guards the farmer's fate?
As embeddedness deepens the state.
The world of cocoa, a puzzle complex,
Intricacies we must not perplex.
Embeddedness, a word that holds,
The stories of those in cocoa's folds.
For as we ponder this intricate dance,
In cocoa's world, a chance perchance.
Questions linger, like whispers in the night,
Do we truly see the farmer's plight?
In the realm of cocoa, let's dare to delve,
To question, to ponder, to truly unveil.
Embeddedness deep, but can we unbind?
The ties that keep so many confined.
Loved the poem! ❤️