Ivorian farmers demand cocoa buyback transparency
Côte d’Ivoire’s cocoa buyback operation has ended, but farmers are demanding transparency over how the programme was implemented and who benefited.
Côte d’Ivoire’s operation to buy back 100,000 tonnes of cocoa stocks has ended, but questions are emerging over how the programme was implemented and who benefited. The Collective of Professional Agricultural Organizations (COPA-CI) has called on the Coffee-Cocoa Council to publish details of the operation, including the cooperatives and structures inventoried, volumes allocated, beneficiaries and quantities actually removed.
The operation was reportedly managed by the Coffee-Cocoa Agricultural Interprofessional Organisation (OIA Coffee-Cocoa), which selected participating cooperatives and determined their allocations, while the Coffee-Cocoa Council handled quality control and financing. COPA-CI said publishing the data would allow producers and industry players to compare the volumes initially identified with those actually purchased and assess any discrepancies. The group said transparency and accountability are now critical following the completion of the buyback programme.
The demand for transparency is understandable. The buyback programme was launched to protect farmers from a price collapse, but the lack of clarity about its implementation has fuelled suspicion. The publication of the data would allow farmers to see whether the programme was fair and whether the funds were used effectively.
The Nigerian stake is clear. Nigeria is also a cocoa producer, and the Ivorian experience offers lessons for Nigeria. Transparency and accountability are essential for the success of any government programme.
From a Nigerian vantage point, the Ivorian demand for transparency is a reminder that farmers must be involved in the management of cocoa sector programmes. Nigeria’s own cocoa sector reforms must be transparent and inclusive.
This echoes the 2021 Ivorian cocoa sector reforms, which also faced questions about transparency. The mechanism then was different, but the result was the same: a demand for accountability.
The winners: the farmers, if the government publishes the data; and the Ivorian cocoa sector, if transparency is improved. The losers: the government, if it refuses to publish the data; and the Nigerian government, which must learn from the Ivorian experience.
Bottom Line: Ivorian farmers want transparency over the cocoa buyback. The programme has ended, but questions remain. The question is whether the government will provide answers.