During the harvest season, a typical day for me from October 1st is quite unusual. Normally, our contracts specify working hours, but during this period, we go beyond that. Since cocoa production is not very high, most collections happen during the main season, and the days are long and busy. Farmers trust us and sell us their cocoa on consignment. 32 While we aim to pay them upon delivery, we don’t always have the funds available to pay them immediately. We don’t receive the funds until each actor in the chain has completed their checks on the cocoa and paid the next actor, which can take time. When we don’t have sufficient funding to cover all the payments immediately, it becomes difficult to ensure timely payments to farmers. Knowing that they need this money sometimes to solve emergencies... that is painful. 32.Under a consignment system, cocoa farmers deliver beans without immediate payment. Ownership stays with the farmer until payment is made, after the beans are weighed, graded, and sold by supply chain partners. Though in both Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, consignment is not the formal standard, it is widely practised at cooperative level as a pragmatic solution to liquidity gaps and financing challenges. In Tony’s Open Chain, invoicing occurs as soon as a batch designated for a Mission Ally reaches the processor’s premises. This guarantees full traceability and links payment to physical delivery milestones, reducing uncertainty and supporting farmers with greater transparency and predictability.
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Photos by: Nuits Balnéaires
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