Barry Callebaut inaugurates its first Cocoa Center of Excellence to accelerate adoption of sustainable agricultural practices in Côte d'Ivoire
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Barry Callebaut /
Barry Callebaut inaugurates its first Cocoa Center of Excellence to accelerate
adoption of sustainable agricultural practices in Côte d'Ivoire
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Latest milestone in company's global Cocoa Horizons sustainability initiative
* Center in Pacobo, Côte d'Ivoire, to offer advanced farmer training programs
starting July 2013
* Integrated "showcase farm" designed to demonstrate optimal farm management
practices including advanced techniques to increase cocoa crop yields and
quality
* Training curriculum includes focus on intercropping to promote
diversification and help support food security requirements of cocoa farming
families
Pacobo/Côte d'Ivoire, Zurich/Switzerland, July 10, 2013 - Barry Callebaut, the
world's leading manufacturer of high-quality cocoa and chocolate products, has
inaugurated its new Cocoa Center of Excellence to promote advanced agricultural
techniques in Côte d'Ivoire, the world's largest cocoa producing country. To
date Barry Callebaut has invested approximately CHF 1 million (EUR 800,000 / USD
1.1 million) in the Center which includes training facilities for farmers and a
30-hectare "showcase farm" to demonstrate state-of-the-art intercropping
techniques and yield enhancement practices to increase farm productivity.
Inauguration of the first Cocoa Center of Excellence on July 5, 2013
More than 300 people attended the ceremonies on July 5, 2013 in Pacobo to
inaugurate the Cocoa Center of Excellence. The event was organized by Barry
Callebaut's subsidiary in Côte d'Ivoire, Société Africaine de Cacao (SACO).
Guests included His Excellency Bandama Maurice, Minister of Culture and
Francophonie, representatives from national ministries in Côte d'Ivoire;
representatives from the governments of Belgium, Switzerland and the United
States; other national and local government officials and leaders; farmers and
managers from cocoa cooperatives in the region; and community members.
"We appreciate and commend the efforts of Barry Callebaut to contribute to
ensuring the sustainability of the cocoa sector in Côte d'Ivoire through the
establishment of this new Cocoa Center of Excellence which will serve as a
valuable source of knowledge and an important training facility for thousands of
cocoa farmers and farmer organizations in the region," said Kouassi Bredoumi
Soumaîla Traoré, General Director of Food Security, representing the Minister of
Agriculture of Cote d'Ivoire.
Advanced farmer training programs
The new Cocoa Center of Excellence is located in Pacobo in the Department of
Tiassalé in the south-central cocoa growing area of Côte d'Ivoire. It comprises
both field and classroom training facilities, separate nurseries to produce
cocoa plants and shade trees, as well as fermentation and drying facilities to
demonstrate proper post-harvest management practices.
Barry Callebaut will begin training programs for farmer trainers as well as
managers and administrators from cooperatives and other farmer organizations in
July 2013. The cocoa training curriculum includes modules on Good Agricultural
Practices (GAP), post-harvest management techniques, crop diversification,
composting, farm rehabilitation, and grafting as well as basic business skills
and social issues such as labor practices, child protection and other education
and health topics. Barry Callebaut initially plans to train about 300 trainers
and managers per year at the Cocoa Center of Excellence.
"The farmers in the surrounding communities have already shown great interest in
the Center and our 'showcase farm' where we are demonstrating crop
diversification approaches that complement cocoa production, ensure food
security and generate additional sources of income for families," said Anke
Massart, Project Leader Cocoa Horizons in Côte d'Ivoire. "At Barry Callebaut, we
see a great opportunity for accelerating the adoption of sustainable practices
by training a new generation of trainers in these advanced techniques, and
continuing to coach and support them as they share the knowledge with farmers in
their home communities and regions."
The "showcase farm" is also being used to demonstrate the appropriate use of
shade trees to protect young cocoa plants on smallholder farms. In the past
year, sections of the farm have been planted to test approaches for growing
cocoa with other crops including plantain, coconut, mango, pineapple, beans and
maize, as well as rubber.
Barry Callebaut is building on its prior experience with intercropping of
compatible plants to improve productivity and biodiversity. Since 2010 Barry
Callebaut has supported a local project in the region to demonstrate optimal
methods of intercropping cocoa, banana and rubber with the goal of improving
yields per hectare.
In addition to the environmental benefits, planting other food crops and trees
together with cocoa also directly benefits farmers and their families by
providing variety to the family diet as well as creating additional sources of
income to complement the earnings from cocoa.
The Center will be affiliated with other Barry Callebaut training facilities to
be constructed in Côte d'Ivoire in the next 12 months. These facilities, called
Barry Callebaut Farmer Academies, will be located in rural communities to serve
as training centers or hubs for farmers in more remote communities. The Farmer
Academies will offer training and support services to reinforce concepts
communicated in Farmer Field Schools and to promote the adoption of sustainable
agricultural practices and advanced yield techniques, such as grafting, to
improve farm productivity.
A cornerstone of the global Cocoa Horizons sustainability initiative
The new Cocoa Center of Excellence is a cornerstone of Barry Callebaut's global
Cocoa Horizons sustainability initiative launched in March 2012. Through Cocoa
Horizons programs and activities, Barry Callebaut aims to help build and extend
the capacities of farmers, farmer trainers and farmer organizations by offering
agricultural trainings to improve cocoa quality and further boost crop yields
per hectare, technical consultations and farm management and business support
services to tens of thousands of smallholders in key cocoa producing regions in
the world. Integrated with the training on farmer practices are targeted
activities to address critical education and health issues in cocoa farming
communities.
***
Barry Callebaut (www.barry-callebaut.com):
With annual sales of about CHF 4.8 billion (EUR 4.0 billion / USD 5.2 billion)
in fiscal year 2011/12, Zurich-based Barry Callebaut is the world's leading
manufacturer of high-quality cocoa and chocolate products - from sourcing and
transforming cocoa beans to producing the finest chocolate, including chocolate
fillings, decorations and compounds. Combined with the recently acquired cocoa
ingredients business from Petra Foods, Barry Callebaut generates estimated
annual sales of CHF 6 billion (EUR 4.9 billion / USD 6.4 billion), runs around
50 production facilities worldwide, sells its products in over 100 countries and
employs a diverse and dedicated workforce of more than 8,000 people.
Barry Callebaut serves the entire food industry, from industrial food
manufacturers to artisanal and professional users of chocolate, such as
chocolatiers, pastry chefs, bakers, hotels, restaurants or caterers. The two
global brands catering to the specific needs of these customers are Callebaut(®)
and Cacao Barry(®).
***
Contact
for investors and financial analysts: for the media:
Evelyn Nassar Raphael Wermuth
Head of Investor Relations Head of Media Relations
Barry Callebaut AG Barry Callebaut AG
Phone: +41 43 204 04 23 Phone: +41 43 204 04 58
evelyn_nassar(at)barry-callebaut.com raphael_wermuth(at)barry-callebaut.com
The complete news release and photos can be downloaded from the following links:
Photo 5: Cocoa Center of Excellence (low-resolution):
http://hugin.info/100441/R/1715305/569933.jpg
Photo 4: Cocoa Center of Excellence (low-resolution):
http://hugin.info/100441/R/1715305/569932.jpg
News Release (PDF):
http://hugin.info/100441/R/1715305/570043.pdf
Photo 6: Cocoa Center of Excellence (low-resolution):
http://hugin.info/100441/R/1715305/569934.jpg
Photo 1: Cocoa Center of Excellence (low-resolution):
http://hugin.info/100441/R/1715305/569929.jpg
Photo 2: Cocoa Center of Excellence (low-resolution):
http://hugin.info/100441/R/1715305/569930.jpg
Photo 3: Cocoa Center of Excellence (low-resolution):
http://hugin.info/100441/R/1715305/569931.jpg
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other applicable laws; and
(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and
originality of the information contained therein.
Source: Barry Callebaut via Thomson Reuters ONE
[HUG#1715305]
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 10.07.2013 - 09:30 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 276967
Anzahl Zeichen: 10473
contact information:
Town:
Zurich
Kategorie:
Business News
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