More traceability, less risk. In Côte d’Ivoire, the Conseil Café Cacao (CCC) launched this week the distribution of a magnetic card to all Ivorian producers. The objective is to further control the flow of beans and allow them to carry out secure transactions.
With our correspondent in Abidjan, Peter Pinto
It is both a bank card and an identification card. There is a QR code which allows to have the identity of the planter, but also the area of his orchard or the number of people living in his household. It also includes a bank chip to allow transactions to be made when marketing products, but also to make deposits and send money.
The card also makes it possible to check that the guaranteed prices at the start of the campaign are respected. Finally, it avoids the transport of cash and therefore limits the risk of theft or robbery. The card is intended for all coffee and cocoa growers in Côte d’Ivoire. They are just under a million according to the census figures carried out by the CCC in 2019 and 2020. ” In principle, it is reassuring, particularly in terms of security. But we are waiting to see how it will be organized, especially in areas where there is no connection or no telephone network. », comments the head of a producer organization contacted by RFI.
This map is a new step in the Ivorian cocoa traceability program. The objective is to be able to follow the journey of a bean from the tree to the boat in order to eventually be able to eliminate child labor and deforestation from the production chain, as the American markets are increasingly demanding. and Europeans. According to the CCC census, 15% of the exploited areas are in classified forests. 29% of children from planter households, of school age, are not.
►Also read: Côte d’Ivoire, world cocoa champion: what’s the point?