Rabobank Group

The cocoa sector is one of the most important agricultural sectors in Ivory Coast. Zamacom is the Ivorian subsidiary of ECOM, one of the world’s largest chocolate producers. ECOM is involved in pre-harvest support, pre-financing and supply of inputs and technical support services in the cocoa sector. The company recently established the Akwacocoa agronomy services company that will work with local co-operatives on the UTZ and Rainforest certification programmes.

ECOM has prepared a document on Sustainable Cocoa Production in Ivory Coast that contains suggestions for a three-year project aimed at improving the livelihood of cocoa farmers in Ivory Coast. ECOM’s goal is to increase the amount of exported certified cocoa from 5,000 tonnes in 2009 to 20,000 tonnes in 2011/12.

To achieve this goal, Zamacom will need to:

• Significantly expand the scale of its training programme through co-operatives and other forms of farmer organisations
• find innovations in training in order to achieve economies of scale and technology.
• Strengthen co-operatives and other organisations by providing expertise in co-operative management.
• Explore financing options that strengthen the farmer organisations and their capital base:
  - this will allow ECOM to use its relatively scarce pre-financing resources more effectively (either to extend or free up ECOM’s reach in pre-financing).
• Work with co-operatives to create additional value for the members:
  - through better forms of credit, inputs, planting material and eventually local savings and loan co-operative  structures to enable  farmers to save and invest.

ECOM has engaged the Rabobank Foundation and Rabo International Advisory Services (RIAS) to:

• Grant support for capacity building at the producer and co-operative level to enable the certification programme.
• Provide technical assistance on co-operative development.
• Financeco-operatives.

RIAS will assist ECOM / Zamacom in two specific areas:

• Introduction of a ‘Capitalisation Structure’ within the co-operatives that will result in co-operatives that are able to attract bank financing for both working capital and investment purposes and for replacing part of the Zamacom pre-financing with own funds.
• Assistance to the new co-operatives that will join the Zamacom certification schemes in the near future through an ‘Institutional Capacity Building Programme’ that will lead to economically viable co-operatives with a capitalisation system that is in place from the outset.