Cacao México

By Samantha Neary | June 22nd, 2012 0 Comments.

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North America’s largest producer of chocolate, The Hershey Company, certainly made some waves in the past regarding its lag behind competitors in sustainable cocoa farming and fair labor laws, but recently, the company has committed itself to being a role model in corporate social responsibility, specifically sustainable farming. In partnership with cocoa supplierAgroindustrias Unidas de Cacao SA de CV (AMCO), a member of the Ecom Cocoa Group, Hershey has established the Mexico Cocoa Project, a 10-year, $2.8 million initiative to reintroduce cocoa growing in southern Mexico – a plan to help restore the country’s plagued cocoa farming industry.

Mexico’s cocoa crop has been essentially decimated for the past ten years, largely due to the spread of Moniliasis, also known as frosty pod rot, a disease that attacks the fruit of the cacao tree, causing its cocoa beans to become unusable. With this new initiative, Hershey and friends plan on making some changes.

Overall, Hershey hopes to achieve one goal: Improve the livelihoods of more than 1000 small-scale cocoa farmers and return productive cocoa growing to the ancient birthplace of domestic cocoa.

And to do so, during the next decade, this new program will:
•   provide training in farm renovation and Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs).
•   distribute disease-tolerant cocoa trees to renew 1,000 hectares of farmland.
•   quadruple family incomes and contribute to the worldwide supply of sustainable cocoa.

These intentions are reminiscent of the company’s recent farming and family efforts in West Africa with theRainforest Alliance.

Logistically speaking, Hershey and Ecom will coordinate the program with several government agencies in Mexico and a local NGO.

Cacao México

PROMOTING A SUSTAINABLE WORLD

Hershey Pledges to Improve Cocoa Farming Conditions in Mexico

By Samantha Neary | June 22nd, 2012 0 Comments.

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