Are PPP's the best way to sustainablility?

Background
The uncertainty regarding future production (and demand) of cocoa, the dearth of information on cocoa resources, the lack of co-ordination of initiatives originating from the public and private sector at national, regional and international levels, have raised questions with regard to the sustainability of the cocoa economy. Consequently, the need for countries to develop their own national cocoa plans, derived from a fully transparent and participatory process with all key-stakeholders involved in the cocoa sector, through public-private partnerships, has become very crucial.

Objective of national cocoa plan
The objective of a national cocoa plan is to achieve a sustainable cocoa economy, in particular for the benefit of smallholder farmers, who are considered to be the weakest link in the supply chain. This is also in line with the mandate provided in the International Cocoa Agreement, 2010 wherein the definition of a sustainable cocoa economy implies an integrated value chain in which all stakeholders develop and promote appropriate policies to achieve levels of production, processing and consumption that are economically viable, environmentally sound and socially responsible, for the benefit of present and future generations, with the aim of improving productivity and profitability in the cocoa value chain for all stakeholders concerned, in particular for the smallholder producers.

Definition of a national plan
A national cocoa plan can be broadly defined as a document which outlines the vision, mission statement, values and strategy to bring about a successful sustainable cocoa sector. It implies, as a requirement, to understand the current position of the sector and the possible avenues through which it can pursue a particular course of action. The targets of key variables are set with clearly defined goals and/or objectives, followed by the path/action plan or the road map, with clear milestones to mark the route to the goals/objectives.

Aim of this blog
It is the aim of this blog to provide a platform to stimulate and share ideas in particular on how the public private partnerships platform can be mobilized towards achieving a common objective to improve the livelihoods of the cocoa farming communities. Having the PPPs as a platform is only one of many pre-requisites as many challenges lie ahead. Other key ingredients include good governance, well-qualified personnel to ensure trust and buy-in by all stakeholders, transparency and accountability taking on-board the variety of interests and a clear distribution of responsibilities among the partners, consensus and openness.

The results from this blog will be taken into consideration in the preparations leading towards the second edition of the World Cocoa Conference to be held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands from 9-13 June 2014. We welcome all interested parties to register and participate in this blog. Your views are highly appreciated and will contribute to the efforts to make a difference in improving the livelihoods of cocoa farmers around the world.