At the center is an innovative income accelerator program, which aims to improve the livelihoods of cocoa-farming families, while also advancing regenerative agriculture practices and gender equality.

A cash incentive will be paid directly to cocoa-farming households for certain activities such as enrollment of children in school and pruning among several others.

Nestlé’s new plan also supports the company’s work to transform its global sourcing of cocoa to achieve full traceability and segregation for its cocoa products.

Cocoa-farming communities face immense challenges, including widespread rural poverty, increasing climate risks and a lack of access to financial services and basic infrastructure like water, health care and education.

"Our goal is to have an additional tangible, positive impact on a growing number of cocoa-farming families, especially in areas where poverty is widespread and resources are scarce, and to help close the living income gap they face over time," said Mark Schneider, Nestlé CEO, in a press release.

"Building on our longstanding efforts to source cocoa sustainably, we will continue to help children go to school, empower women, improve farming methods and facilitate financial resources. We believe that, together with governments, NGOs and others in the cocoa industry, we can help improve the lives of cocoa-farming families and give children the chance to learn and grow in the safe and healthy environment they deserve."

The program rewards practices that increase crop productivity and help secure additional sources of income, which aim to close the gap to living income and help protect children. By engaging in these practices, families can additionally earn up to 481 euros (CHF 500) annually for the first two years of the program. The higher incentive at the start will help accelerate the implementation of good agricultural practices to build future impact. This incentive will then be leveled at 240 euros (CHF 250) thereafter as the program starts delivering tangible results.

Building on the positive results of an initial pilot in 2020 with 1,000 farmers in Côte d'Ivoire, in 2022 Nestlé will expand the program to include 10,000 families in the country, before extending it to Ghana in 2024.

It will then assess the results of that test phase and adapt where necessary, before moving to reach all cocoa-farming families in its global cocoa supply chain by 2030.

You can read more about Nestlé’s initiatives for sustainable cocoa production here.