On May 13, 2020, the Working Group on Living Income and Child Labor carried out a workshop on living income for all members of the Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa. The workshop was moderated by Antonie Fountain from the VOICE Network and the Alliance on Living Income in Cocoa and Nina Kuppetz from GIZ. The workshop consisted of three main parts: (1) Introduction to concept and perspectives from members, (2) Strategies to close the income gap, (3) Stakeholders’ roles and responsibilities. The goals of the workshop included knowledge and experience exchange as well as learning. At the end of the workshop, participants were able to: (1) Explain the living income concept; (2) describe various strategies to close the income gap and identify short-comes and necessary adjustment; (3) identify their roles and responsibilities regarding living income of producers. The workshop was attended by more than 70 SWISSCO members representing all stakeholder groups.
The main outcome of the workshop are as follows: (1) Need to achieve a level playing field for all stakeholders through stronger commitments and transparency along the value chain but also through regulation where possible; (2) Implement a holistic approach to living income: Most income interventions of SWISSCO members are focused on productivity and diversification, but participants of this workshop are realizing that this is not sufficient. A holistic approach to living income where five interrelated factors are considered as follows is key: diversification, productivity, pricing, cost of production, enabling environment. The implementation of a holistic living income approach requires collaboration, sharing of resources and tools; (3) To strengthen collaboration within SWISSCO and among European National Cocoa Initiatives.
Based on a thorough analysis of the Workshop results, a strategy on increasing farmers income will be developed.
Link to GIZ Living Income presentation