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Having legal ownership of their land or long-term rights as tenants benefits the farmers by helping to improve their livelihoods and give them more security of the land they depend on. It benefits the environment as farmers have an incentive to invest in the land by adopting sustainable agriculture practices. And it benefits our business because we have a more sustainable source of high-quality cocoa.
This work is being carried out by the Cote d'Ivoire Land Partnership (CLAP), which brings together
Through a pilot that's running in two villages in the south of the country, CLAP members subsidise the cost of the documentation and provide technical support to help the farmers navigate the certification process.
Earlier this year, the first group of farmers - more than 40% of whom are women - received 130 land tenure documents. CLAP's early scale project, which runs until next year, aims to cover 30 villages and deliver over 9,000 documents. It will also create a blueprint for a larger-scale project.
Group of eight smallholder cocoa farmers holding up their land tenure documents at a presentation ceremony.
Why is CLAP so important?
With poor land management, soil degrades over time. This means that the farmer's productivity and therefore their income decreases. It also means they are more likely to expand into forested areas to try and make up the shortfall.
With security of tenure, they have more choice of what, when and how to grow. Importantly, they also have an incentive to invest in the land and plan for the future, adopting long-term, sustainable practices. This increases the yield they get from the land, which in turn helps prevent deforestation.
As land tenure impacts cocoa farmers from a social, economic and environmental perspective, it's a complex challenge that requires collaboration between many stakeholders including government, local NGOs, international development agencies and the private sector.
Cocoa farming is central to the
'At Unilever, we believe that when smallholder farmers thrive, so will the environment - and our business. That's why we're encouraged by the progress that's being made through CLAP in helping smallholder cocoa farmers in
This programme is a great example of how
The CLAP partnership
The Cote d'Ivoire Land Partnership (CLAP) was founded by
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