With the growing criticism on palm oil, the interest for coconut oil as an alternative oil source is increasing, especially for manufactured food products where consumers are particularly sensitive about the ingredients used. This is particularly the case in chocolate and bakery products, and desserts. Within the Coop group, Chocoloats Halba is the company that is sourcing the biggest amounts of coconut oil, being eager to increase the volumes especially of Fairtrade and Bio Suisse Organic certified crude coconut oil (CNO).

The project builds on the collaboration with Pro Fair Trade AG, a Swiss trading company specialized in sourcing fats and oils from developing countries. Pro Fair Trade AG is also the main shareholder of PMCI Sarl (Plantations Modernes de la Côte d’Ivoire) [1], a local company and which has lately obtained ownership rights to plant and manage a coconut-based plantation in the Andou M’Batto municipality. PMCI Sarl is eager to implement a commercially oriented agroforestry system as a means to not only obtain good hectare yields but also to pilot and showcase a production system that involves much higher sustainability contributions than common monoculture systems. The foreseen Dynamic Agro-Forestry (DAF) pilot plot on the PMCI plantation will also serve as a training site for the smallholders that are involved in the project.

[1] PMCI is a joint venture for the production of sustainable coco. Legally, PMCI is a limited company founded by HMA, PFT and the private investor Ralph Erdmann, who each hold an equal part of the company’s shares.