MARS Supports the Sustainable Living Income of 9,000 Cocoa Farmers in Indonesia through the ACTIVE Program

Indonesia, 18 May, 2022 – PT MARS Symbioscience Indonesia launched a four years (2022 – 2026) program, to support cocoa farmers in achieving decent and sustainable livelihoods, called Advancing Cocoa Agroforestry toward Income, Value and Environmental Sustainability (ACTIVE). Together with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Institute for Development Impact (I4DI), it is hoped that ACTIVE program can support farmers to achieve a better livelihood from the cocoa commodity sector.

MARS, USAID, and I4DI provided access to appropriate technology, market infrastructure, and good access to finance to 9,000 cocoa farmers with. ACTIVE program will be implemented in North Luwu District, East Luwu District, and North Kolaka District.

Ronita Roy, Vice President of Cocoa Strategic Sourcing of MARS, said “We understand that cocoa farmers in Indonesia face many challenges in managing their plantations sustainably, which prevents them from fully realizing all the potential socio-economic benefits from their farming activities. Some of these challenges include lack of access to appropriate knowledge and technology, inadequate market infrastructure, limited financial availability, and of course, climate change.”

“In partnership with USAID and I4DI, we will test and learn to identify which approaches are most effective in setting farmers on the path toward a sustainable, living income and facilitating a more diverse cocoa ecosystem,” said Fay Fay Choo, Asia Cocoa Director. “Our goal is to be able to use these learnings to inform and create a blue print that can be scaled to its entire supply chain for long-lasting, systemic change.”

Government agencies that will be involved in implementing ACTIVE is Indonesian National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture, South Sulawesi Provincial Government, Southeast Sulawesi Provincial Government, East Luwu District Government, North Luwu District Government, and North Kolaka District Government. (CSP/AV)