For Cocoa Farmers, Going Digital Tastes Sweet

In Côte d’Ivoire, where almost half of jobs are linked to cocoa, IFC and GAFSP are working with the cocoa company Cargill to professionalize and digitize the sector. The Cargill 2.0 program works on professionalizing cooperatives, teaching management skills and training on the benefits of digital finance to increase traceability and security. As part of the program, farmers are paid digitally in partnership with mobile network operators and banks. Banking remotely makes payments safer and more transparent, while also helping reduce the transmission of COVID-19. “Digitization opens up huge opportunities,” said Lionel Soulard, Cargill’s managing director for West Africa. “We don’t just work on traceability, but also give farmers access to financial services so that they can become real entrepreneurs.”