A sustainable yet tasty way of improving the livelihoods of cocoa producers

The United Nations Development Programme in Ecuador, AltFinLab, and Amsterdam's FairChain Foundation have begun an initiative that uses blockchain technology to introduce shared-value chocolate bars. Numerous cocoa farming businesses are close to collapse due to unfair pay for their work. Blockchain technology can revolutionise the food industry by offering transparency and authenticity to their products.

The cocoa beans used to create the chocolate bar is sourced from sustainable farmers in the Ecuadorian Amazon. This will be reflected in the price, considering its production, export, and impact on the environment.

“The farmers we are sourcing from practice zero deforestation. They do not cut trees to plant cocoa and they actively work to preserve the Amazon,” says Jose Nicolas Velez, a shareholder from Hoja Verde Company.

“We truly believe that total traceability will positively influence European consumers’ purchasing behaviour, directly helping the livelihoods of thousands of farmers,” says Carlo Ruiz, head of the UNDP Inclusive Economic Development Unit in Ecuador. “If we prove that consumers will pay the true price for the chocolate’s socio-economic and environmental impact, then we can replicate this model.”

Full article: https://medium.com/@UNDP/a-fair-deal-for-ecuadorian-cacao-farmers-47f2be97b281