Mars is fully committed to integrating
a gender-transformative perspective
into every program implementation,
and Fairtrade wholeheartedly
supports this dedication, as it will
play an essential role in our LEAP
initiative. We will conduct a gender
analysis to assess the insights from
the LEAP scoping studies and baseline
data. This analysis will guide the
formulation of a Gender Action Plan
for LEAP, ensuring that all activities
are executed with a gender-sensitive
and transformative approach.
Livelihood Ecosystem Advancement
Program (LEAP) program - Côte d'Ivoire
Mars, Fairtrade, and ECOOKIM embarked on
a holistic development journey to achieve and
maintain a living income for cocoa growing
communities. Drawing on more than 10 years of
collaboration between the project partners, the
Livelihood Ecosystem Advancement Program (LEAP)
program focuses on the below priority areas:
Farmer segmentation strategy, activity bundling,
and living income growth streams to meet unique
farmer needs.
Strengthening co-operatives so they can support
farmers with a range of services (i.e., training/
coaching, governance, access to inputs, market
access) so that they can earn higher incomes.
Diversifying farmer incomes so both women and
men farmers can make money from on-farm and
off-farm activities.
Expanded access to affordable finance through
digital banking, a revolving micro-finance
facility, and working with village savings and
loan associations.
LEAP aims to support more than 3500 participating
farmers in Côte d'Ivoire to achieve a living income
by 2030. If the program is successful, this could
translate to as much an 100% increase in average
household income from 2022 for most participating
households and would contribute to transforming
the rural economy to sustain incomes and economic
growth beyond the program.
To initiate the project and understand farmers'
current situation and challenges a range of scoping
studies have been conducted on the topics of
income diversification, access to finance and cooperative
strengthening. A baseline study has also
been completed to gather and analyze data related
to essential programme metrics such as household
incomes, income diversification, agricultural
practices and gender dynamics. The results of
these multiple studies will inform the subsequent
implementation of the program.
Advancing Cocoa Agroforestry Towards
Income, Value, and Environmental
Sustainability (ACTIVE) - Indonesia
Launched in 2022, the Advancing Cocoa
Agroforestry Towards Income, Value, and
Environmental Sustainability program, a partnership
with USAID and I4DI, projects to increase the
income of 9,000 farmers in Indonesia by up to 15%
over four years and to reduce by 20% the number
of participating farmers living below the living
income benchmark. The ACTIVE program's focus is
on promoting an inclusive, scalable, and sustainable
agroforestry model, supporting financial inclusion
and enabling access to digital financing and crop
insurance solutions and building partnerships to
help create an enabling environment necessary for
diversified cocoa-farming ecosystems to succeed.
Our journey began with a strong awareness
campaign supported by Sustainable Farming
in Tropical Asian Landscapes program and
Mars Cocoa Academy. This was followed by
comprehensive agroforestry training to equip
local cocoa farmers with skills to adapt to climate
changes and boost their income sustainably. By
May 2023, ACTIVE had engaged 622 cocoa farmers
(77% men, 23% women).
A crucial part of our program is assessing Learning
Sites to tailor our ongoing agroforestry training in
the second year, ensuring farmers' resilience against
environmental changes. We also emphasize crop
diversity, initially focusing on five non-cocoa crops
and planning to introduce more. Concurrently,
we're collecting data to help farmers access quality
seeds and effectively sell non-cocoa harvests.
ACTIVE also recognizes the important role of
women in the cocoa sector. Our gender survey aims
to understand and empower female farmers. As we
celebrate a successful first year, we're looking ahead
to a future where cocoa farmers actively contribute
to sustainability.
Cocoa Yiedie Initiative in Ghana
Launched in 2022 through the Livelihoods Fund for
Family Farming (L3F), the Cocoa Yiedie Initiative in
Ghana forms a coalition comprising Mars, cocoa
supplier Touton, Solidaridad West Africa (a local
implementer with extensive smallholder experience
in West Africa), and I4DI (a trusted scientific partner
tasked with evaluating project impacts).
Livelihoods and its partners are collaborating on an
innovative 3-year project to uncover strategies to
uplift cocoa farmers from poverty and enable a shift
towards more sustainable agroforestry models
that increase farmers' income. By addressing
various farmer needs, such as skills, finances,
and labor, the initiative aims to promote Good
Agricultural Practices and invest in replanting
activities. This flexible approach allows partners to
test different approaches with separate groups of
farmers and adjust as needed, all with the shared
objective of helping farmers move towards a
sustainable income level.
Agroforestry Trial Training
at North Luwu and East Luwu in South Sulawesi, Indonesia
Anna Mann
Head of Responsible Business
Fairtrade Foundation
MARS | COCOA FOR GENERATIONS | 2022 ANNUAL REPORT | PAGE 16
DELIVERING ON OUR COCOA FOR GENERATIONS STRATEGY | IMPROVING LIVELIHOODS