PRO-PLANTEURS is a joint project of the German Initiative on Sustainable Cocoa (GISCO), the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Ivorian Coffee-Cocoa Council (Conseil du Café-Cacao). The German Initiative on Sustainable Cocoa (GISCO) is an association of the German confectionery industry, the German food retail trade and civil society organisations as well as the German government, represented by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). PRO-PLANTEURS contributes to the implementation of the national cocoa strategy of Côte d'Ivoire, 2QC (Quantité - Qualité - Croissance), and the CocoaAction strategy of the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF).
In the project period 2015 to 2025, PRO-PLANTEURS seeks to professionalise 30,000 family farmers and their cocoa farmer organisations in Côte d'Ivoire. The project also aims to provide opportunities for women, in par-ticular, to achieve a better income and a better food basis for their families in order to have a positive impact on their living conditions. After a successful first phase, a five-year follow-up phase began in June 2020. The project progress of PRO-PLANTEURS is regularly monitored and adjusted if necessary.
You can find out more about the ongoing activities of our project and the German Initiative on Sustainable Cocoa here.
You can find more information about the project in our Fact Sheet.
Project participants have their say here, for example the cooperative president Alida N'Takpe-Coulibaly.
Picture galleries of gender trainings and other topics can be found here.
Studies & reports on the PRO-PLANTEURS project can be found in our study overview in the tab "Studies & Reports".
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The Project PRO-PLANTEURS
In June 2020, the project PRO-PLANTEURS entered another five-year follow-up phase and will continue to be jointly financed by the German Initiative on Sustainable Cocoa, the German government and the Ivorian government. Time to take a look at the first project phase (06/2015 - 05/2020).
In the first phase of the project from 2015 to 2020, the project worked with 35 farmer organisations in the regions of Abengourou, Aboisso and Agboville. PRO-PLANTEURS trained 140 managers of the farmers' or-ganisations to make them more professional. In the second phase, more organisations of cocoa farmers in the regions of Yamoussoukro and Divo will be included in the project.
Matching Fund PRO-PLANTEURS - Strengthening the cooperation between members of the German Initiative on Sustainable Cocoa (GISCO) and PRO-PLANTEURS
The Matching Fund PRO-PLANTEURS supports the members of the German Initiative on Sustainable Cocoa in the implementation of their activities regarding a sustainable cocoa sector. The joint projects contribute to the goals of GISCO and those of PRO-PLANTEURS. In the projects, members develop solutions with their local partners for the existing challenges in the cocoa sector: poverty of cocoa farmers, child labour and deforestation.
Projects of the Matching Fund PRO-PLANTEURS
First phase (2020)
| Project | Region | Duration | Funding | Target group | Members involved |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Household Income Accelerator/IAP | Aboisso, Tomodi | 3 years | 2,5 Mio EUR | 1000 producers | Cargill and Nestlé |
| Improving the resilience of cocoa-producing households and their communities | Cavally, Montagnes | 3 years | 521.000 EUR | 600 producers | Cargill and Ritter Sport |
| Ending child labour in cocoa-producing communities and improving the social and economic status of young people | Divo, Abengourou, Aboisso, Agboville | 2 years | 293.000 EUR | 10.000 producers | Solidaridad and Mondelēz |
Second phase (2021)
| Project | Region | Duration | Funding | Target group | Members involved |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strengthening the entrepreneurial and financial skills of cooperative leaders | 12 months | 114.000 EUR | 30 cooperatives | ofi | |
| Strenghtening Fairtrade cocoa cooperatives through integrated data management | 15 months | 146.000 EUR | 26 cooperatives | Fairtrade International | |
| An Integrated Approach to Address Cocoa-Driven Deforestation and Protect the Environment | San Pédro | 13 months | 304.000 EUR | 500 producers | Schokinag |
| Promoting a holistic and innovative approach to combat deforestation and climate change, and improve producer incomes | Nawa, Cavaly, Grand Ponts | 13 months | 236.000EUR | 8.500 producers | Ferrero |
| Community Services Groups for Agroforestry | 15 months | 260.000 EUR | 4.000 producers | Mondelēz and ofi |
"I encourage women to take an interest in agriculture, to take an active role in cocoa production and to assert themselves as producers."
- Alida N'Takpe-Coulibaly, President of the SCOOP-RASSO cooperative
PRO-PLANTEURS and its project activities have four main subjects:
1. Strengthening farmers' organisations
All farmer organisations working with PRO-PLANTEURS run a 12-month programme of training and counselling to strengthen their management and improve access to finance. PRO-PLANTEURS also offers customised events, training and activities to support the organisations in further professionalising and expanding their services to members. These include the introduction of digital payment methods or the training of young people as workers in cocoa cultivation, who support the farmers, e.g. in plant protection.
2. Improved farm management
PRO-PLANTEURS supports cocoa farmers through training and direct advice. In order to improve the income of the families, the participants in the project learn methods to develop their often traditionally managed farms into professional small businesses. In the Farmer Business School training, for example, the farmers learn to manage expenses and income and to make calculations on profitability.
Smallholder farms that do not grow only one crop, i.e. that diversify cultivation, are more resilient to price and harvest fluctuations. Moreover, cocoa and other cash crops should not completely displace the cultivation of vegetables and other crops for subsistence in order to ensure food security throughout the year. For this reason, the project focuses on imparting knowledge on benefits as well as good agricultural practices in the cultivation of vegetables and other food crops consumed in households. Awareness-raising on agroforestry systems contributes to climate change adaptation, and events on good nutrition practices contribute to a balanced diet for families.
3. Promoting cooperation in the supply chain
PRO-PLANTEURS offers GISCO members the opportunity to implement projects that contribute to the achievement of GISCO's objectives through a matching fund linked to the project and financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Projects can be proposed by GISCO members from the private sector and non-governmental organisations. The projects approved after the first call target more than 10,000 cocoa-producing households on the topics of living income, agroforestry, diversification and prevention of abusive child labour.
4. Shared learning and innovation
PRO-PLANTEURS supports dialogue and learning. The exchange of knowledge and innovations is particularly pro-moted in events in the various project regions. In this way, farmers' organisations become multipliers for information, innovations and good agricultural practice.
All farmer organisations working with PRO-PLANTEURS run a 12-month programme of training and counselling to strengthen their management and improve access to finance. PRO-PLANTEURS also offers customised events, training and activities to support the organisations in further professionalising and expanding their services to members. These include the introduction of digital payment methods or the training of young people as workers in cocoa cultivation, who support the farmers, e.g. in plant protection.
PRO-PLANTEURS supports cocoa farmers through training and direct advice. In order to improve the income of the families, the participants in the project learn methods to develop their often traditionally managed farms into professional small businesses. In the Farmer Business School training, for example, the farmers learn to manage expenses and income and to make calculations on profitability.
Smallholder farms that do not grow only one crop, i.e. that diversify cultivation, are more resilient to price and harvest fluctuations. Moreover, cocoa and other cash crops should not completely displace the cultivation of vegetables and other crops for subsistence in order to ensure food security throughout the year. For this reason, the project focuses on imparting knowledge on benefits as well as good agricultural practices in the cultivation of vegetables and other food crops consumed in households. Awareness-raising on agroforestry systems contributes to climate change adaptation, and events on good nutrition practices contribute to a balanced diet for families.
3. Promoting cooperation in the supply chain
PRO-PLANTEURS offers GISCO members the opportunity to implement projects that contribute to the achievement of GISCO's objectives through a matching fund linked to the project and financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Projects can be proposed by GISCO members from the private sector and non-governmental organisations. The projects approved after the first call target more than 10,000 cocoa-producing households on the topics of living income, agroforestry, diversification and prevention of abusive child labour.
4. Shared learning and innovation
PRO-PLANTEURS supports dialogue and learning. The exchange of knowledge and innovations is particularly pro-moted in events in the various project regions. In this way, farmers' organisations become multipliers for information, innovations and good agricultural practice.
PRO-PLANTEURS offers GISCO members the opportunity to implement projects that contribute to the achievement of GISCO's objectives through a matching fund linked to the project and financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Projects can be proposed by GISCO members from the private sector and non-governmental organisations. The projects approved after the first call target more than 10,000 cocoa-producing households on the topics of living income, agroforestry, diversification and prevention of abusive child labour.
PRO-PLANTEURS supports dialogue and learning. The exchange of knowledge and innovations is particularly pro-moted in events in the various project regions. In this way, farmers' organisations become multipliers for information, innovations and good agricultural practice.
