Securing Organic Cocoa Supply Chains

This webinar studies the effects of new EU rules on organic farming and deforestation for smallholder cocoa farmers and develops practical solutions to help secure a stable supply of Fairtrade organic cocoa for the future.

Abstract:
Why did organic cocoa imports into Europe drop by around 40% between 2023 and 2025? A new study by FiBL and Fairtrade International, supported by the SWISSCO Peer Learning and Collaboration Programme, went to origin to find out.

Survey data from 287 smallholder organisations in 34 countries, surveyed together with CLAC and Fairtrade Africa, including 76 cocoa groups representing more than 52,000 EU-organic farmers, reveals no single cause, but a pile-up of pressures that pushed costs down the chain while the money didn’t follow.

You’ll learn:
• What drove the shortage: price volatility, the new EU Organic Regulation, EUDR, climate impacts and contamination risk
• Latest organic cocoa market data, including Switzerland as a key processing hub
• What EU compliance really costs producer organisations, and who pays
• How producers adapted without abandoning organic
• What buyers, brands and donors can do to secure supply

Speakers:
• Fairtrade International Senior Advisor Climate and Environment, Brenda Mariana Huerta (moderator)
• Florentine Meinshausen (FiBL, researcher/consultant)
• Fairtrade International Cocoa Manager, Johanna Schmidt (Panelist)

Who should join:
Cocoa traders, chocolate brands, producer organisations, organic and Fairtrade sector bodies, development organisations, donors, and anyone sourcing organic smallholder crops.

This study is funded through our Peer Learning and Collaboration Programme, supported by SECO Wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung.

Event date:

03/11/2026

13:00

Location:

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Organisers:

Fairtrade International, FiBL, Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa

Languages:

English

Commodity:

Cocoa

Link to external website:

Link

More information coming soon

Region:

Luwero, Nakaseke, Kassanda, Mubende, Bukomansimbi, Kyotera, Omoro, and Nwoya

Target group:

Smallholder farmers, traders, state and non state actors, and processors

Key activities:

Capacity building of smallholder coffee farmers in production practices and sustainable land use management.
Establishing traceability system and facilitating access to sustainable financing
Facilitate inclusive business partnerships between producer organizations and supply chain actors
Promote multi-stakeholder cooperation

Commodities:

Region:

Huánuco, Ucayali, Pasco and Junín

Target group:

Public and private stakeholders, especially exporting companies, cooperatives and smallholder producers

Key activities:

Strengthen the supply chains to meet EUDR requirements
Facilitate access to sustainable finance and knowledge exchange
Training of smallholders to sustainable manage their production systems

Commodities:

Region:

Ngozi and Kayanza

Target group:

Smallholders

Key activities:

Training on the use of traceability tools and support on collection of geolocation data for EUDR compliance
Support the development of a national coffee sector dashboard for traceability and transparency
Capacity building of smallholder coffee farmers in production practices and sustainable land use management.

Commodities:

Region:

Centre, South West, Littoral, South, East and West regions

Target group:

Smallholder farmers, women, youth, and indigenous peoples

Key activities:

Develop inclusive business partnerships with the private sector
Facilitate access to finance for sustainable business models
Support and train farmers in open-source traceability systems
Promote multistakeholder dialogues to improve legal and regulatory provisions

Commodities:

Region:

(Lower) Kafue Catchment Ecosystem

Target group:

Farmers and community forest management groups

Key activities:

Support community forest management groups in the
sustainable management of natural resources and livelihood creation
Support farmers to produce soy in line with the EUDR and increase productivity, and implement transparency and traceability pilots

Commodities:

Region:

Lampung, West Kalimantan, and Central Sulawesi

Target group:

Smallholder farmers, private sector, and civil society organizations along the value chains

Key activities:

Empowering Smallholder Farmers and Farmer Organizations by facilitating traceability and legality, building capacity on Good Agriculture Practices (GAP), and strengthening farmer organizations, ensuring inclusive support for both men and women farmers.
Promoting sustainable practices and collaboration by supporting village HCV/HCS conservation efforts, testing and strengthening the National Dashboard for traceability and legality, and fostering national and regional exchanges.

Commodities:

Region:

Son La, Gia Lai

Target group:

Smallholder farmers and marginalized groups

Key activities:

Support coffee value chain actors
Foster deforestation-free, sustainable, and legal supply chains

Commodities:

Region:

Yangambi Biosphere Reserve, Salonga National Park North, Salonga National Park South, Virunga National Park, Kahuzi-Biéga National Park

Team Europe Initiative on Deforestation-free Value Chains

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