In the village of Guéwa, in Côte d'Ivoire, cocoa farmer and father-of-seven Nahoua Sekongo has a new way of describing his family's life: "Now, I harvest more and waste less, increasing my income in the process."
His wife runs a growing village shop, funded by savings and a small loan. His children have books and food for the week. The family has invested in livestock as a financial safety net. "It's about security," he says. "We are building something for the future."
It wasn't always this way. Like thousands of cocoa-farming households across West Africa, Nahoua's family once faced the reality that defines life for so many in the sector – a persistent gap between what the land earns and what a family needs to live with dignity. "Before, we were surviving season to season," he explains.
What changed was a program designed to do more than improve yields. Nestlé's income accelerator program (IAP) works with the whole household – not just the farm – to help build the farmer’s resilience to climate challenges.
Nahoua is one of ~45 000 cocoa-farming families now participating in the program in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. His story is the reason the program exists. |
