Growers rely on a complex web of co-ops, certification programs and labour rules in an attempt to seek a fair price from chocolate makers. The Globe went to the Dominican Republic to see how it works
Wilson Caraballo Abreu, a driver with the cocoa-growing outfit Cooproagro, stirs wet beans in fermentation boxes at their processing plant in San Francisco de Macoris, Dominican Republic.
Jose Ortiz-Ortega is a Dominican cocoa farmer who credits a fair-trade co-operative for helping him to earn more money. His cocoa is processed at the plant in San Francisco de Macoris, which turns farmers’ wet beans into fermented, dried ones like these. Farmers selling fair trade work in co-ops. Like the old wheat pools of the Canadian Prairies, these offer more power to negotiate prices and share costs. The idea is to cut out cocoa buyer middlemen, keeping more money for the farmers.
Chocolate companies that want to label their products as fair trade must meet all of these requirements and be certified by Fairtrade International.Some chocolate companies label their products as “sustainable,” or with other similar terminology, but it doesn’t always mean the same thing as fair trade. These programs have a wide variety of standards: some are done in co-operation with third-party certification bodies, while others are designed and administered internally by the companies.
Marisol Villar’s farm near San Francisco de Macoris grows cocoa, citrus, melon and other crops. Fair-trade funds helped to build a road from here to the processing centre, sparing her from jungle treks on horseback that would reduce the pods’ freshness.On top of providing a steadier income, fair trade funds are used for community development projects, chosen by the farmers.
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