In 2024, the price of cacao on world markets spiked dramatically, nearly quintupling from what it had been a year earlier. Prices have since dropped, but along with a land crunch in Côte d’Ivoire, the world’s top producer of the commodity, the prospect of high financial rewards have helped to drive a rapid expansion of […]
Ivory Coast has, for more than a decade, been one of the few African stories of unbroken macroeconomic success. Growth
read more Côte d’Ivoire’s US$206 billion investment bet: Cocoa, crude and the cost of caution
Until 2020, 99% of Liberia’s Grand Gedeh county was covered by natural forests. Since then, cacao farms have rapidly encroached on those forests, reports Mongabay’s Ashoka Mukpo. Grand Gedeh in southeastern Liberia borders Côte d’Ivoire, the world’s largest exporter of cacao beans. Much of Côte d’Ivoire’s forests have been cleared for cacao and many of its cacao […]
Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana have announced a major policy shift to harmonise their farmgate cocoa pricing systems, a move aimed at improving farmer incomes and strengthening their influence in the global cocoa market, the B&FT reported. The agreement was formalised in a Joint Declaration issued by President Alassane Ouattara of Côte d’Ivoire and President John […]
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Presidents John Mahama and Alassane Ouattara Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire have agreed to harmonise their cocoa farm-gate pricing in order to improve farmer incomes, strengthen market stability as wellRead More...
Amsterdam, 29 January 2026 – Senior government leaders, regulators and industry decision makers from across the global cocoa value chain will convene in Amsterdam next month for the World Cocoa Foundation Partnership Meeting, one of the sector’s most influential global forums, as the industry faces mounting climate pressure, regulatory change and market volatility.
This year’s meeting will mark the launch of WCF’s newly refined strategy, setting out a more focused and action-oriented approach to climate resilience, cocoa diseases, traceability and regulatory readiness.
The programme brings together senior leaders from key producing and consuming countries, including Yves Brahima Koné, Director General of the Conseil du Café-Cacao, Côte d'Ivoire; Dr Francis Baah, Deputy CEO of COCOBOD, Ghana; Raquel Solís Guevara, Deputy Minister of Agricultural Production Development, Ecuador and Dr Marcus O Ogunbiyi, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Nigeria, alongside
Celine started her career as a data scientist before becoming a management consultant at McKinsey & Company. She joined Enveritas in 2019 (based in Cote D'Ivoire) and launched cocoa operations. Enveritas currently operates in the 8 cocoa geographies, covering 85% of the world's production. Celine now leads Enveritas cocoa impact programs globally to help farmers secure higher and more resilient incomes, in particular piloting programs to help farmers limit income and production loss from the cocoa swollen shoot virus.
Jean-Paul Aka is an agricultural engineer and expert in forest governance, climate, and sustainable agriculture, with over 15 years of experience across West Africa. As Head of the Sustainable Development and Climate Change Unit at UNDP Côte d’Ivoire, he leads national initiatives that integrate sustainable agriculture, forestry, and carbon finance to drive the transition toward a zero-deforestation economy. He played a key role in establishing the national carbon market framework and promoting jurisdictional approaches linking cocoa, forests, and land tenure. Through flagship initiatives such as Cocoa Carbone+ and Côte d’Ivoire Bleue, he fosters innovative partnerships for land tenure security, climate-smart agriculture, and compliance with emerging environmental regulations.
Dr. Koffié Kouakou joined ICRAF Côte d’Ivoire as a CSSV scientist and serves as a Research Scientist within the Vision for Change project. In this role, he oversees Integrated Pest and Disease Management. Before joining ICRAF, Dr. Koffié KOUAKOU garnered experience working with and establishing research networks with esteemed national and international organizations such as CNRA (Centre National de Recherche Agronomique), UJLOG (Université Jean Lorougnon Guede), and WCF (World Cocoa Foundation). He holds a Ph.D. in Plant Virology from Felix Houphouët Boigny University in Côte d’Ivoire. Koffié is a former recipient of the CIRAD PhD fellowship in France and the Borlaug Fellowship Programs in the USA. Collaborating with scientists from CNRA, CIRAD, University of Arizona (USA), University of West England, University of Reading, Félix Houphouet-Boigny University, and ICRAF, he has made significant contributions to the authorship of numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals.