The implementation of a National Traceability and Transparency System is one of the fundamental tools for building governance in the cocoa production chain. With this objective in mind, and within the framework of the Siembra Desarrollo Project, our office in Ecuador is implementing a pilot plan to register cocoa producers, intermediaries, traders and exporters in order to comply with the requirements necessary to export cocoa production to the European market.

William Ulloa, Rimisp’s consultant, explains that this registration is done through a cellular application in which the data of the chain’s actors is entered, as well as the georeferencing of their plantation or collection center. “The objective is to guarantee that the chain’s production is free of deforestation when it enters as a commodity for sale in Europe. Both the trader and the exporter will have the certainty that the cocoa from different producers complies with what the European market will begin to demand in the coming months,” he says.

The experience is being developed in some cantons of Ecuador. For this purpose, a characterization of these territories was carried out, in which 10,703 farms where cocoa is grown are registered. The technician explains that cocoa production is not the main economic activity of the producers in the area, “cocoa is not their only source of income. They grow other crops on these lands, such as rice, corn, citrus, bananas, raise animals, and are also employed in activities that are not related to agriculture,” he says.

It should be noted that 99% of CCN51 (monoculture) cocoa farmers grow cocoa independently, i.e. only 1% of these farmers belong to a production association. On the other hand, those who grow cocoa in agroforestry systems are mostly part of producer associations.