The cocoa supply chain is under pressure from climate change, strict regulations, and low wages. In Ivory Coast, blockchain technology is unlocking new opportunities: transparency, traceability, and social equity are helping to revive the sector and empower young people and women.
Blockchain technology ensures transparent cocoa supply chains
Cocoa, one of the most cherished raw materials worldwide, is undergoing a crisis driven by a combination of complex factors.
Cocoa’s crisis, explained
First, the cocoa industry is under increasing pressure to become more transparent and equitable. Social sustainability must move beyond slogans to become a measurable, enforceable reality.
The 2023 implementation of the European Union’s Deforestation-Free Products Regulation (EUDR) posed a major challenge for the sector. The EUDR aims to combat deforestation and environmental degradation while reducing the impact of European consumption on global forest loss. Under this regulation, only products that meet strict sustainability and legality standards can enter the EU market.
But there’s more to the crisis. Global warming, the spread of crop diseases, and persistently low labor wages have all contributed to a sharp drop in cocoa production, from 2.2 million to just 1.4 million metric tons per year.
Further worsening the situation, former U.S. President Donald Trump imposed a 21% tariff on cocoa imports from Ivory Coast, the world’s leading cocoa producer. This remains the highest cocoa tariff across West Africa.
Trusty’s blockchain technology offers a new path
A potential breakthrough comes from Trusty, a benefit corporation using blockchain to bring regulatory compliance and full traceability to agri-food supply chains.
One of its flagship initiatives is Green Horizons: training, employment, and sustainable entrepreneurship in Ivory Coast, supported by the Italian Ministry of the Interior’s Department for Civil Liberties. The project promotes the economic inclusion of women, youth, and other disadvantaged groups in Abidjan, Yamoussoukro, and Bouna.
Running through 2027, Green Horizons will train 320 Ivorians between the ages of 18 and 35 in green economy and agri-livestock sectors. The goal is to reduce socio-economic marginalization and help prevent irregular migration.
100% Ivorian cocoa
Green Horizons follows the earlier Fair & Trusty Trade: Traceability, Transparency, and Trust in the Cocoa Supply Chain, which ran from 2021 to 2023. The project aimed to make cocoa production in Ivory Coast more ethical and traceable.
Trusty’s technology was developed in partnership with Comoé Equitable, the Ivorian company behind the CHOCO+ brand. CHOCO+ is the first cocoa processing lab in the country to produce 100% Ivorian, 100% fair-trade chocolate. It adopted Trusty’s platform early on to ensure full product traceability from the project’s pilot phase.
Local cocoa cooperatives Agrimagni and Yosran have also used Trusty’s blockchain solution to simplify and improve traceability across their supply chains.
Measurable results
The Yosran cooperative includes 158 cocoa farmers and 186 plantations, spanning 418 hectares of certified organic cocoa.
In 2023, Yosran achieved three times the Premium Price of standard certifications per ton from Domori, a prestigious Italian chocolate producer, for approximately 100 tons of cocoa, thanks to the traceability and quality ensured by the Trusty platform and facilitated by COCOASOURCE.
Trusty’s technology even empowers end consumers, who can trace the entire cocoa journey through a QR code printed on each label.
Jobs and training for women and youth
CHOCO+ currently provides stable employment for 10 people, 70% of whom are women and 40% from disadvantaged backgrounds. The company also offers technical training programs for local staff and cooperative members to support the project’s long-term sustainability.
Alessandro Chelli, founder and CEO of Trusty, explains:
“Cocoa supply chains in Africa often suffer from low visibility, making it difficult to verify ethical practices. This has a direct negative impact on the livelihoods of small-scale farmers.
Trusty’s platform enables secure, easy data collection and sharing, from farm to final consumer.
Using accessible tools like smartphone and tablet apps, and leveraging our Track&Trace feature, we’ve been able to prove cocoa origin, increase consumer trust, and most importantly, ensure that added value flows back directly to farmers.”
