Illegally grown cocoa in Nigerian jungle sustains chocolate supply chains

Published 2023년 12월 23일

Tridge summary

Men have been illegally clearing areas of the Omo Forest Reserve in Nigeria for cocoa plantations, despite the protected status of the reserve and the presence of endangered wildlife such as African forest elephants, pangolins and white-throated monkeys. This cocoa is then purchased by major international cocoa traders, including Olam Group and Tulip Cocoa Processing Ltd., and subsequently supplied to chocolate makers such as Mars Inc. and Ferrero, contributing to a global chocolate market valued at billions of dollars. The chocolate industry has promised to ensure sustainable and abuse-free cocoa sourcing, but there are concerns that checks are not being properly carried out in the cocoa supply chain, leading to environmental damage and labor exploitation.

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Original content

OMO FOREST RESERVE, Nigeria (AP) — Men in dusty work clothes trudge through a thicket and make their way up a hill where sprawling plantations lie under the cover of a Nigerian rainforest whose trees have been felled for make room for those who produce cocoa destined for places like Europe and the United States. Kehinde Kumayon and his assistant clear low bushes that compete for sunlight with their cocoa trees, which have replaced the lush, dense natural foliage. Farmers carefully swing their machete to avoid breaking the ripe yellow pods that contain the seeds that will help create chocolate, the delicacy that shoppers stock up on at Christmas. Over the course of two visits and several days, The Associated Press repeatedly documented farmers harvesting cocoa beans where such work is prohibited in conservation areas of the Omo Forest Reserve, a protected humid tropical forest 135 kilometers (84 miles) away. northeast of the coastal city of Lagos in southwestern Nigeria. Here the ...

Source: Elperiodicodemexico