Traceability for Sustainability and Farmer Inclusivity in the Cocoa Sector
North Luwu, 3 & 4 June 2025 – The North Luwu Regency Government, supported by the Indonesia Business Council for Sustainable Development (IBCSD), Tropical Forest Alliance (TFA), Partnership for Indonesia's Sustainable Agriculture (PISAgro), Cocoa Sustainability Partnership (CSP), and Solidaridad (Sol) with participation of the European Union (EU), held a cocoa jurisdictional dialogue entitled “Promoting Sustainable Cocoa in Indonesia Through Traceability and Farmer Inclusion”. This jurisdictional dialogue aims to support the strategic transformation of Indonesia's plantation sector, which plays a major role in the national economy, especially cocoa.
The dialogue is implemented as a part of the Sustainable Agriculture for Forest Ecosystems (SAFE) project, which is funded by the EU, Germany, and the Netherlands. SAFE has been implemented in 10 countries and is partnering with each respective government. SAFE also implements regional dialogue in three regions: Andes, MERCOSUR, and Southeast Asia. In Southeast Asia, the regional dialogue is focused on Indonesia, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea. The initiative is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), collaborating with a consortium that is led by the TFA-IBCSD.
In addition to being one of the largest cocoa-producing regions in Indonesia, North Luwu was chosen as the location for the jurisdictional dialogue due to the high involvement of various parties in efforts to increase cocoa production sustainably. In addition, the local government has a priority for regional development, “Sustainable Cocoa, Prosperous People” for the agricultural sector.
“Cocoa commodities are the backbone of the North Luwu economy. This sector contributes 22% of Gross Regional Domestic Product (PDRB).” said the Regional Secretary (Sekda) of North Luwu, Jumar Jayair Lussa S.Ip. M.Si. at the opening of the event. “North Luwu is one of the suppliers of sustainable and deforestation-free cocoa through several international brands whose products enter the European market. Thus, to fulfill the global demand for traceable, legal, and deforestation-free cocoa products should not be difficult.” added Sekda Jumar.
Eloise O’Carroll, Program Manager for Forestry, Natural Resources, and Energy, EU Delegation for Indonesia, adds that the global demand for sustainable commodities and deforestation-free production could be an opportunity to increase regional economic growth through green-growth. It also aligns with Indonesia’s commitment to reduce deforestation by 56% by 2030, which is documented in the Enhanced Nationally Determined Contribution (ENDC).
“European Union member states, namely the Netherlands, Germany, Estonia, Spain, and France, are the largest consumers of Cocoa coming from Indonesia. Despite an upward trend, Indonesia’s cocoa export to the EU is relatively low, around 5% in 2024 with a market value of EUR223 million.” Said Eloise. “As the world's largest cocoa consumer, the European market offers an opportunity for North Luwu and Indonesia as a stable and reliable export destination, as long as the criteria are met. Witnessing a significant increase in Indonesia’s efforts in reducing deforestation for the past decade, Indonesia is in the right position to increase sustainable cocoa to the EU.” added Eloise.
The dialogue was welcomed by the Regent, who attended online. He underlines the importance of advancing agricultural commodities to strengthen the economy of the community and region, while also contributing to transforming economic priorities in Indonesia.
"North Luwu is a region that is developing from the agricultural and plantation sectors. This can be seen from the contribution of our GRDP. Thus, we make these two sectors the mainstay of our development, in line with national and international development trends. We will continue to coordinate with parties at the provincial, national, and international levels." Said Andi Abdullah Rahim, Regent of North Luwu.
In line with the vision of the Regent of North Luwu, the Ministry of Agriculture, Directorate of Plantation Downstreaming, Sangkan M. Sitompul, S. H., M. Sc, also emphasized the importance of accelerating the Electronic Cultivation Registration Certificate (STDB) as a concrete traceability effort for North Luwu cocoa to be able to enter the European market. The role and involvement of cocoa farmers in the supply chain are also crucial, considering that 90% of national cocoa production comes from smallholder farms.
“STDB registration is very important to ensure the involvement of farmers in the global cocoa supply chain. To accelerate the issuance of STDB, cooperation from all parties is needed, including farmer groups, farmer cooperatives, the private sector, certification bodies, civil society organizations, and the government,” said Sangkan Sitompul. “In addition, farmers must maintain and improve the quality of their products in accordance with Good Handling Practice (GHP), because product quality can affect its market price.” added Sangkan Sitompul.
The Jurisdictional Dialogue was closed with the practice of filling out e-STDB for 31 members of farmer groups and 14 agricultural extension officers. Several collaboration opportunities were also identified to accelerate the achievement of e-STDB, one of which is multistakeholder synergy. The collaboration is envisioned to be implemented on cocoa plantations that are managed under a social forestry scheme.
The issues of funding, technical guidance, knowledge distribution, and access to cocoa seeds and fertilizers are also highlighted during the discussion. Addressing these challenges will improve the welfare of cocoa farmers through increased productivity.
"There is a need for coordination at the district level to unite stakeholders in the cocoa sector to address existing challenges, while accelerating the issuance of STDB. The ultimate goal is that North Luwu Regency could export cocoa to the EU by fulfilling its requirements and other regional regulations on sustainable commodities," said Yeni, Director of Solidaridad Indonesia, as one of the partners organizing this sustainable commodity jurisdiction dialogue activity.
About the Regional Technical Dialogue Partnership
Indonesia Business Council for Sustainable Development (IBCSD)
IBCSD is an association of CEOs of companies in Indonesia who are committed to sustainable development through economic growth, ecological balance, and social progress. IBCSD serves as a platform for businesses to share best practices while also being a key partner for government and society in sustainability policies.
Tropical Forest Alliance (TFA)
Headquartered within the IBCSD’s office, TFA Southeast Asia is a global multistakeholder partnership working to reduce deforestation in commodity supply chains. TFA facilitates collaboration between the private sector, governments, civil society, and local communities to promote sustainable business practices and policies that support the production and trade of deforestation-free commodities. As an initiative supported by the World Economic Forum (WEF), TFA plays a role in connecting stakeholders and accelerating collective action to protect tropical forests worldwide.
Partnership for Indonesia’s Sustainable Agriculture (PISAgro)
PISAgro is a platform for public-private partnerships that aims to address agricultural challenges in Indonesia sustainably while improving the welfare of smallholder farmers through innovation and multi-stakeholder dialogue. PISAgro has partnered with more than 2.5 million farmers through an inclusive, closed approach, which is at the heart of PISAgro's strategy to improve farmers' welfare and productivity through integrating smallholders into the supply chain and connecting them to finance and banking.
Cocoa Sustainability Partnership (CSP)
CSP is a forum for public-private collaboration and actively for the advancement of cocoa development in Indonesia and the Indonesian cocoa sector in the international market. CSP was established to improve communication, coordination, and collaboration between public-private stakeholders directly involved in sustainable cocoa activities in Indonesia on the basis of benefits for all stakeholders in the cocoa sector.
Solidaridad
Solidaridad is an international network organization with partners around the world, with one agenda and one strategy: together we learn and progress, together we achieve results, and together we decide the way forward. Oriented towards solutions for the development of profitable, socially responsible, and environmentally sound supply chains. Solidaridad provides measurable and economically effective sustainability solutions in the agricultural and mining sectors, in collaboration with governments, businesses, and communities. We promote the transition of sustainability from a specific basic domain to a more acceptable aspect in favor of people, planet, and profit.