World Cocoa Conference concludes with Amsterdam Declaration

Amsterdam, 13 June 2014—The second edition of the World Cocoa Conference, organized by the International Cocoa Organization and hosted by the Government of the Netherlands, concluded today with the adoption of the Amsterdam Cocoa Declaration, highlighting the progress made in tackling the cocoa industry’s most serious problems.

The Conference, which ran throughout the week at the city’s RAI Exhibition and Congress Centre, attracted over 1,400 cocoa stakeholders from 55 countries and from all parts of the sector, including farmers, traders, processors, chocolate makers and civil society groups. An Exhibition featured 50 stands representing various cocoa-related organizations and companies, and a series of interactive sessions organized by various Dutch-based stakeholders broadened the participation even further.

Among the highlights of the main sessions of the Conference, which featured 100 speakers and panellists from all parts of the globe, were the addresses by Dutch Agriculture Minister, Her Excellency Ms. Sharon Dijksma (pictured top), His Excellency Mr. Jean Louis Billon, Minister of Trade of Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana’s Ambassador to the Netherlands Dr. Joe Tony Aidoo and, representing his country’s Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Aquaculture and Fisheries, His Excellency Mr. Javier Ponce Cevallos, was Ecuador’s Vice Minister, His Excellency Mr. Luis Valverde.

Other Conference highlights included a keynote presentation fromICCO Executive Director Dr. Jean-Marc Anga (above, opening the Exhibition with the Mr. Roald Lapperre of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs) suggesting a new method of increasing cocoa farmer incomes; a lively panel session moderated by CNN’s Mr. Richard Quest (right, with speaker Dr. Martin Kra Nguettia Kouakou) looking at the progress in reducing the worst forms of child labour; the presentation of the new World Cocoa Foundationplatform CocoaAction by senior representatives of the world’s largest processors and chocolate manufacturers; and an ‘Inspiration Lounge’ with activities including chocolate painting, chocolate and wine tastings, and a look at the art of the chocolatier.

At the Conference Dinner held at the city’s 17th Century Maritime Museum (below), special awards were presented to Ghana’s best cocoa farmer, as a representative of the entire cocoa producing community; to Ecuador in recognition of that country’s leadership in bringing about a consensual outcome to the issue of the EU Directive on cadmium levels in cocoa, and to Côte d’Ivoire to demonstrate the success that the world’s largest producer had shown in developing a national cocoa plans to further the development goals for the country’s cocoa sector, as recommended by the Global Cocoa Agenda.

The Amsterdam Cocoa Declaration, agreed by the participants at the Conference, looks at the progress made worldwide in maintaining the forward progression toward a fully sustainable cocoa sector and identifies priority areas and actions to be implemented which would allow all stakeholders in the cocoa value chain to equitably share in its benefits.

The World Cocoa Conference, which was first staged in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire in November 2012, is scheduled to be held again in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic in May 2016, at the kind invitation of the Government of the Dominican Republic.

PROGRAMME OF THE WORLD COCOA CONFERENCE AMSTERDAM 2014
9 – 13 June 2014, Amsterdam RAI Convention Centre, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

To download available presentations, click on the highlighted presenter names below

MONDAY 9 June 2014

13:00 Registration (Onyx Lounge) open

14:00 Exhibition (Hall 3) open

16.30 – 18.00 Exhibition (Hall 3): Official Inauguration of the Exhibition and Reception

  • Mr. Roald Lapperre, Deputy Director General, Ministry of Economic Affairs, The Netherlands
  • Dr. Jean-Marc Anga, Executive Director, ICCO

18.00 Exhibition and Registration Desk closes

TUESDAY 10 June 2014
PLENARY SESSIONS (AUDITORIUM)

8:00 Registration (Onyx Lounge) open

09:30 Official Opening Ceremony and Welcome Speeches

  • Welcome on behalf of the host Government by H.E. Ms. Sharon A M Dijksma, Minister for Agriculture, The Netherlands
  • Welcome Address by Dr. Jean-Marc Anga, Executive Director, International Cocoa Organization (ICCO)
  • Address by H.E. Mr. Luis Valverde, Vice Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Aquaculture and Fisheries, Ecuador
  • Address by H.E. Dr. Joe Tony Aidoo, Ambassador to the Netherlands, Ghana
  • Address by H.E. Mr. Jean-Louis Billon, Minister of Trade, Côte d’Ivoire

11:00 Keynote Presentation: The Farmer in the cocoa value chain: How to improve his income?
Dr. Jean-Marc Anga, Executive Director, ICCO (pictured)

12:00 Lunch (Exhibition, Hall 3)

(Interactive Session: Roadmap to ‘Nutrition Secure’ Cocoa Supply Chains–Room G104)

(Interactive Session: The Cocoa Fertilizer Initiative–Room G105)

PLENARY SESSIONS (AUDITORIUM)
From Abidjan to Amsterdam: Progress on the Implementation of the Global Cocoa Agenda

14:00 Panel 1 – Implementation of the Global Cocoa Agenda: Progress by Countries on their National Cocoa Strategies

Moderator: Dr. Joost Oorthuizen, Executive Director, IDH, The Sustainable Trade Initiative

Presentations by Cocoa Exporting Countries:

16:00 Cocoa Break

16:30 Panel 2 – Implementation of the Global Cocoa Agenda: Progress by Countries on their National Cocoa Strategies(Continued)

Moderator: Mr. Philip M. Sigley, Chief Executive, Federation of Cocoa Commerce

Presentations by Cocoa Importing Countries:

  • Mr. Marcel Vernooij, Head, Global Affairs, Ministry of Economic Affairs, The Netherlands
  • Ms. Beate Weiskopf, Acting Manager, German Initiative on Sustainable Cocoa (GISCO) (pictured)
  • Ms. Yulia Lebedeva, Deputy Head of Desk, Department of International Organizations, Ministry of Economic Development, Russian Federation
  • Mr. Conradin Rasi, Deputy Head, Economic, Finance & Trade Section, UK Embassy of Switzerland

17:30 End of day’s session

WEDNESDAY 11 June 2014
PLENARY SESSIONS (AUDITORIUM)

09:00 Panel 3 – Implementation of the Global Cocoa Agenda: The Industry’s Progress, Challenges and Opportunities (Panel Discussion)

Moderator: Mrs. Massandjé Touré-Litsé, Director General, Conseil Café Cacao, Côte d’Ivoire

Presentation: CocoaAction: Mr. Bill Guyton, President, World Cocoa Foundation (pictured)

Panellists:

11:00 Cocoa Break

11:30 Panel 4 – Value distribution from the farm to the chocolate bar (Panel Discussion)

Moderator: Mr. Antonie Fountain, Coordinator, VOICE Network

Panellists:

  • Mr. David Kpelle, Programme Director, Africa Cocoa Coalition
  • Dr. Victor Iyama, National President, Agricultural Commodities Association of Nigeria (FACAN)
  • Mrs. Michèle Akamba Ava, Director of Control of Sale and Quality, ONCC, Cameroon
  • Mr. Arjen Boekhold, Chain Director, Tony’s Chocolonely

12:30 Lunch (Exhibition, Hall 3)

14:00 Panel 5 – Progress on global efforts to eradicate the worst forms of child labour in the cocoa sector (Panel Discussion)

Moderator: Mr. Richard Quest, Broadcaster and Journalist, Quest for Business, CNN

Keynote Presentation: Dr. Martin Kra Nguettia Kouakou, Director of Fight against Child
Labour at the Ministry of State, Ministry of Employment, Social Affairs and Vocational
Training and Executive Secretary of the Interministerial Committee for the Fight against child
trafficking, exploitation and child labour in Côte d’Ivoire.

Panellists:

  • Mr. Nick Weatherill, Executive Director, International Cocoa Initiative (pictured (l) with Benjamin Smith)
  • Mr. Benjamin Smith, Senior Officer for CSR, International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour, International Labour Organization
  • Dr. Francis Baah, Acting Executive Director, Cocoa Health & Extension Division, Ghana Cocoa Board
  • Andrew Tagoe, Head of Programme, General Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU), Ghana

15:00 Panel 6 – Beyond Certification: Improving farmer livelihoods by mainstreaming sustainable cocoa (Panel Discussion)

Moderator: Dr. Jean-Marc Anga, Executive Director, ICCO

Introduction by Mr. Christopher Wunderlich, Coordinator, United Nations Forum on
Sustainability Standards

Panellists:

  • Mr. Robert Yapo Assamoi, Director of Sustainability, Projects and Planning, Conseil Café Cacao, Côte d’Ivoire
  • Dr. Soetanto Abdullah, Member of the Scientific Board of the Indonesian Coffee & Cocoa Research Institute (ICCRI) (pictured)
  • Mr. Alastair Child, Cocoa Sustainability Director – Certification & Community Development, Mars Global Chocolate
  • Ms. Cathy Pieters, Director, Cocoa Life Program, Mondelēz International

16:00 Cocoa Break

16:30 Panel 7 – Empowering Cocoa Producers by Strengthening Farmer-Based Organizations (Panel Discussion)

Moderator: Mr. Bertus Wennink, Senior Advisor, Royal Tropical Institute

Keynote Presentation by Mr. Nico Roozen, Executive Director, Solidaridad Network(pictured)

Panellists:

  • Mr. Alfonzo Baldera German, CONACADO, Dominican Republic
  • Mr. Eliseus Opoku Boamah, Executive Secretary, Cocoa Abrabopa Association, Ghana
  • Mr. Taco Terheijden, Manager, Sustainable Cocoa, Cargill Cocoa and Chocolate

17:30 End of day’s session

 

 

 

CONFERENCE DINNER
Het Scheepvaartmuseum – The National Maritime Museum 19:30

THURSDAY 12 June 2014
BREAKOUT SESSIONS (AUDITORIUM / EMERALD ROOM / ROOMS G102‐G103)

Track 1 Sustainable Production: Transforming Cocoa Farming into a Viable Economic Activity (Auditorium)
The cocoa and chocolate industry has raised concerns that a lack of supply threatens the future of the sector, as productivity has not improved over the years and cocoa farming is not seen as an attractive proposition for the young generation. This session will offer a platform to discuss progress and propose innovative ideas to address this threat, focusing on making the business more financially appealing to farmers.

Moderator: Dr. Martin Gilmour (Research Director, Cocoa Sustainability, Mars Global Chocolate),
Chairperson of the Working Group on Sustainable Production(pictured)

08.30 Moderator’s Introduction: Measuring Progress on the Implementation of Global Cocoa Agenda

09:00 Panel 8 – Improving cocoa productivity and quality through an integrated system

Presentation by Mr. Jonas Mva Mva, Cocoa Program Manager, IDH The Sustainable Trade
Initiative

Panellists:

10:30 Cocoa Break

11:00 Panel 9 – Attracting a new generation of cocoa farmers and addressing gender issues

Presentation by Mr. Omer Maledy, Executive Secretary, CICC, Cameroon (pictured)
 

Panellists:

12:00 Panel 10 – Protecting the diversity of cocoa and the prospects for fine/flavour cocoa

Presentation by Ms. Ann Tutwiler, Director General, Bioversity International (pictured)

Panellists:

  • Dr. Freddy Amores, Leader, Cocoa and Coffee Research Program, INIAP , Ecuador
  • Mr. Martin Christy, Founder Seventy% / Direct Cacao
  • Mr. Philipp Kauffmann, Founder and CEO, Original Beans
  • Dr. Anna Laven, Senior Advisor Sustainable Development, Royal Tropical Institute (KIT), The Netherlands
  • Dr. Vele Pat Ila’Ava, Acting Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Livestock, Papua New Guinea

13:00 Lunch (Exhibition, Hall 3)

Track 2 Sustainable Industry Chain: Factors Affecting Farmers’ Incomes (Emerald Room)
Stakeholders involved in the supply side have been raising the alarm that they do not earn a large enough share of the value of the sector and that this threatens its sustainability, with farmers and their governments now turning to other crops. This session will bring together the various parties involved in the cocoa value chain to review major market constraints and discuss opportunities to create more value at origin.

Moderator: Mr. Michiel Hendriksz (Director of Sustainability, ADM Cocoa), Vice-Chairperson
of the Working Group on Sustainable Industry Chain

08.30 Moderator’s Introduction: Measuring Progress on the Implementation of Global Cocoa Agenda

09:00 Panel 11 – Improving market efficiency and transparency

Presentation by Mr. Samuel K. Gayi, Head, Special Unit on Commodities, UNCTAD (pictured)

 

Presentation by Dr. Christopher Gilbert, Professor of Econometrics, University of Trento (pictured)

Panellists:

  • Ms. Francesca Kleemans, Strategy and Supply Demand Manager, Cargill Cocoa and Chocolate
  • Mr. Paul Hutchinson, Head of Cocoa Products Trading, Olam Cocoa
  • Mr. Friedel Hütz-Adams, Cocoa Issues Specialist, Südwind-Institut

10:30 Cocoa Break

11:00 Panel 12 – Adding Value to Cocoa at origin

Presentation by Mr. Edward George, Soft Commodities Specialist, Ecobank

Panellists:

  • Mr. Ricardo Meija-Aristizabal, Specialist in Sales and Development, Compañia Nacional de Chocolates, Colombia
  • Mr. Edmund Poku, Managing Director, Niche Cocoa, Ghana
  • Ms. Eliette Milagros Mora Montes, Manager, Mi Tierra, Nicaragua

12:00 Panel 13 – Financing the Cocoa Sector

Presentation by Mr. Kofi Adomakoh, Head of Project Finance and Export Development,
Afreximbank

Panellists:

  • Mr. Parvindar Singh, Managing Director, Common Fund for Commodities (CFC)
  • Mr. Dick de Graaf, Coordinator, Cocoa Steering Committee, European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions (EFFAT) (pictured)
  • Mr. Lucas Simons, Founder and CEO, SCOPEInsight

 

13:00 Lunch (Exhibition, Hall 3)

(Interactive Session: Value Distribution and Living Income—Emerald Room)

Track 3 Sustainable Consumption: Trends and Actions in Response (Rooms G102-G103)
Demand growth from mature markets is back, but is characterized by more stringent food safety
constraints. Appetite for chocolate products in emerging markets is expanding, and origin countries are also looking at opportunities to develop their own local markets. This session will discuss these trends and how they affect the long term supply and demand equilibrium of the cocoa sector.

Moderator: Dr. Torben Erbrath, (Managing Director, BDSI, Association of the German
Confectionery Industry), Chairperson of the Working Group on Sustainable Consumption

08.30 Moderator’s Introduction: Measuring Progress on the Implementation of Global Cocoa Agenda

09:00 Panel 14 – Managing the supply deficit

Presentation by Mr. Laurent Pipitone, Director of the Economics and Statistics Division, ICCO

Panellists:

10:30 Cocoa Break

11:00 Panel 15 – Promoting cocoa consumption in emerging markets and origin countries

Presentation by Mr. Shi Yuping, Chairman, Wuxi Huadong Cocoa Food Co, China (pictured)
Panellists:

  • Mr. Edem Amegashie-Duvon, Cocoa Trader and Head of Marketing at the Cocoa Marketing Company / Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod)
  • Dr. Soetanto Abdullah, Member of the Scientific Board of the Indonesian Coffee & Cocoa Research Institute (ICCRI)
  • Dr. Peter Aikpokpodion, Leader, Cocoa Value Chain Development, Agricultural Transformation, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Nigeria


12:00 Panel 16 – Food safety in the cocoa sector: how best to help producers comply and influence legislation?

Presentation by Ms. Isabelle Adam, General Secretary, European Cocoa Association (ECA) (pictured)

Panellists:

  • Dr Jayne Crozier, Team Leader / Plant Pathologist, CABI
  • Mr. Chagema John Kedera, Regional Coordinator, EDES-COLEACP
  • Dr. Kenza Le Mentec, Project Coordinator, Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF), Word Trade Organization (WTO)

13:00 Lunch (Exhibition, Hall 3)

PLENARY SESSIONS (AUDITORIUM)

Strategic Management: Working together towards a sustainable cocoa economy
This session will bring together key parties involved in the preparation of the Conference to discuss the outcome of the various sessions of the event and to agree on how they can better cooperate on specific issues.

Moderator: Dr. Jean-Marc Anga (Executive Director, ICCO) Chairperson of the Working Group on
Strategic Management

14.30 Moderator’s Introduction: Measuring Progress on the Implementation of Global Cocoa Agenda

Panel Discussions:

  • Improving Coordination in the Cocoa Sector: A Review of Initiatives to Enhance Information and Coordination through Cocoa Databank, CocoaMap and CocoaConnect
  • Measuring Progress towards the Goals in the Global Cocoa Agenda and identifying the next steps

Panellists:

  • Dr. Martin Gilmour, Chair of Working Group for Sustainable Production
  • Mr. Michiel Hendriksz, Vice-Chair of Working Group for Sustainable Industry Chain
  • Dr. Torben Erbrath, Chair of Working Group for Sustainable Consumption
  • Mr. Jonas Mva Mva, Vice-Chair of Working Group for Strategic Management
  • Dr. Anna Laven, Senior Advisor Sustainable Development, Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) The Netherlands
  • Mr. Steve Farone, Business Manager, Cocoa Measurement and Progress Initiative, World Cocoa Foundation
  • Mr. Laurent Pipitone, Director of Economics and Statistics, ICCO

16:30 Cocoa Break and End of day’s session

FRIDAY 13 June 2014
PLENARY SESSION (AUDITORIUM)

Conclusion of the Conference and Closing Ceremony

10:30 Presentation by Mr. Achille Bassilekin, Assistant Secretary General, Sustainable Economic Development and Trade Department, African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP)(pictured)

11:00 Adoption of Recommendations – Amsterdam Cocoa Declaration

 

11:30 Closing remarks

  • Dr. Jean-Marc Anga, Executive Director, ICCO(pictured (l) with Jose Antonio Martinez and Roald Lapperre)
  • Official Announcement of the host country, city and provisional dates for the Third World Cocoa Conference in 2016
  • Mr. Roald Lapperre, Deputy Director General, Ministry of Economic Affairs, The Netherlands

12:30 Press Conference