Sustainability baseline assessment for Ritter cocoa supply chains
Cote d’Ivoire, Nicaragua, and Nigeria
Sustainability baseline assessment, data management system analysis
Funders
Alfred Ritter GmbH & Co. KG
Partners
CEFCA for Cote d’Ivoire
Cocoa
Crops or productive systems
Implementation dates
June – October 2019
Beneficiaries
Cocoa producing farmers in Cote d’Ivoire, Nicaragua, and Nigeria
About the project
Sustainability of cocoa production is one of the top priorities of the Alfred Ritter GmbH & Co. KG (Ritter), a German chocolate company which exclusively sources certified cocoa products and is committed to source only certified sustainable cocoa. Through this project, SAN supported Ritter and its supply chain partners to conduct baseline sustainability assessments of three of its cocoa supply chains.
The project’s objective was to assess the economic, environmental and social sustainability status of some of the company’s cocoa supply chains in Ivory Coast, Nicaragua, and Nigeria. The project also made recommendations to improve Ritter’s supply chain data collection and management system.
During farm and producer group visits, in-depth assessment methods for cocoa smallholder livelihoods, forest protection and environmental practices were applied. SAN experts covered a representative sample of family farms, producer groups, buying stations and traders for the assessments.
Outcomes
At the end of the project, SAN delivered a root-cause analysis of assessment findings for the three supply chains in Cote d’Ivoire, Nicaragua and Nigeria and will propose measures to address the identified needs for the cocoa sustainability programs of Ritter and its supply chain partners.