Certification for cocoa farming is a transparent, credible, and ongoing process that reports on labor conditions in the West African cocoa farming sector – on a country-by-country basis.

Cocoa certification represents a major step forward in efforts to improve the well-being of children, farm families and communities in the cocoa sector. It is the first program ever to address labor issues involving a farm-based commodity grown on several million small family-owned and -operated farms in some of the world’s most remote regions.

Certification for cocoa farming includes:

• Data collection at the community and farm level that provides a statistically representative view of child labor and forced adult labor problems
• Transparent, publicly available annual reporting on the findings from the data collection, and on what must be done to address the issues raised in the report
• Remediation – a range of programs to improve the well-being of children and address the issues identified in the data collection process
• Independent verification of the certification process

These elements work together to drive continuous improvement in the well-being of children, families and cocoa farming communities.

The development of a certification system for smallholder agricultural production in West Africa is being undertaken by our industry together with the governments of the cocoa producing countries.