Supporting Cocoa-Farming Families

Your break is part of an innovative program in West Africa that supports cocoa-farming families by increasing their incomes, planting trees, and helping kids into school.

We’re helping lay the groundwork for new income opportunities and more resilient cocoa-farming families by encouraging:

• Adopting agricultural practices: Such as pruning cocoa trees, planting shade and fruit trees (agroforestry), and using compost to enrich the soil to increase productivity and build farm resilience
• Helping with school expenses: Incentives for helping get children aged 6–16 into school by delivering mobile cash transfers
• Joining Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs): Self-managed savings groups that help families set money aside and access small loans to support the development of small businesses, aiming to increase income diversification
• Supporting women’s decision-making and financial resilience: By delivering mobile money cash transfer incentives directly into the hands of women, delivering gender training, and supporting income diversification through training in small business activities

Mobile money cash transfers are distributed equally between both heads of the family to encourage gender equity, share financial responsibilities, and build more resilient households.

The results in 2024 (see the latest progress report summary of the Nestlé income accelerator program for more details):

• +21% increase in cocoa net income vs non-participants
• +15% increase in total household net income
• 80% of families are now part of a Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs)

So far, the program has reached 30 000 cocoa-farming families in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, moving to 50 000 families by 2026 with the ambition to reach an estimated 160 000 by 2030. 

More information is available in the latest progress report summary of the Nestlé income accelerator program.

Did you know?

In several factories across the world, our KitKat® bars are made with cocoa mass sourced from Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana through the income accelerator program. It’s also Rainforest Alliance certified, ensuring the highest level of traceability: Mixed Identity Preserved. Mixed Identity Preserved means that the cocoa can be traced from participating farming families right through to our factories, like a virtual passport stamped at every step of its journey.

This high-quality cocoa is the most delicious ingredient in your KitKat® bars. Cocoa pods are transformed into several delicious ingredients that play an important role in your chocolate bar, like cocoa butter or cocoa powder.

To make it a little easier to understand, check out the snappy visual below.