By Oliver Nieburg<\/strong><\/a> – December 21, 2020<\/p>\r\n \u00a0<\/em>A network of cocoa drying and fermentation centers covering half of global cocoa production can overturn ‘a lack of respect’ for cocoa and farmers, says the Center for Disruptive Innovation.<\/p>\r\n Such a network could be financed by $4.5 billion green bonds from the World Bank and other sources, according to the research organization formed this year.<\/p>\r\n The model will create $17 billion in added value that can be shared with farmers, says the Center.<\/p>\r\n The thinktank says expanding wet bean buying through a network of fermentation and drying centers, while upping the retail price for chocolate can provide farmers a living income and combat deforestation.<\/p>\r\n Safarian, who has been working in the cocoa industry for over 30 years, said there is a\u00a0“lack of respect”<\/em>\u00a0for the cocoa fruit, for farmers and for the forest because fermentation – one of the most important steps for chocolate flavour development and value creation – is being overlooked.<\/p>\r\n He alleged the chocolate industry had built wealth over the last 30 years by keeping farmers in extreme poverty.<\/p>\r\n “Everybody wants to help farmers; everyone wants to help the forest. But nobody is trying to really create value in the supply chain. Before we share value with the farmers, we need to create value,”<\/em>\u00a0he said.<\/p>\r\n His thinktank has set a 10-year target for 2.4 million tonnes of cocoa and 4 million farmers to be covered by post-harvest centers, representing 50% of the global cocoa supply, which would create such value.<\/p>\r\n Chocolate using cocoa sourced through this wet bean model would retail for five US cents more on top of a $1 bar of 50g, says the Center. And the added value can be shared with the farmers through premiums, it says.<\/p>\r\n Cocoa & drying fermentation centers exist at some commercial plantations and within some cocoa sustainability programmes such as Puratos’ Cacao Trace (pictured) but are not widely available for smallholder farmers globally .<\/em>The thinktank is independent of Puratos and receives no financial backing from the chocolate ingredient supplier.<\/p>\r\n The Center hopes this will prevent companies buying from the London and New York exchanges, which it says subjects farmers to the uncertainty of speculative buying.<\/p>\r\n The fermentation and drying centers could be run by origin governments, industry players, a mix or even farmers themselves, they say. The thinktank does not plan to be an implementer itself.<\/p>\r\n The model includes a mandatory minimum price for wet bean purchasing that will be tied to country or region-specific living income benchmarks.<\/p>\r\n According to the thinktank, 75,000 rural jobs can be created in the post-harvest centers and the model will more easily facilitate the rollout of agroforestry.<\/p>\r\n The thinktank is already in discussions with the World Bank, the International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO), IFC and Stanford University.<\/p>\r\n The Center hopes to find a country to prototype its model and has already been approached by the Ivorian government.<\/p>\r\n