• Climate, environment & productivity: Climate change and deforestation continue to threaten cocoa productivity and farmer livelihoods. We were hopeful when we saw the slight rise in estimated yield levels for this year. However, knowing that long-term investment in farm renovation is needed to prevent a return to declining yields in the coming years, we launched our updated productivity programme. The programme is aimed at boosting farm yields and climate resilience through targeted support and direct investments at the farm level. Alongside this work, we maintained our strong record on deforestation in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, with GPS-polygon mapping and deforestation risk analysis carried out for 100% of cocoa farms – 99.99% of Tony’s Open Chain cocoa was sourced verified deforestation-free. • Human rights: In 2024/25, partner cooperatives identified 3,448 cases of child labour in our supply chain, more than double the number of cases found last season. This was expected, given the significant increase in partner cooperatives we worked with, and shows the system is working. Based on analysis of our Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation System (CLMRS) data, we know that we can effectively resolve the majority of cases within 9 months. This year’s analysis showed that, among our longest-term partner cooperatives (those that have consistently implemented the 5 Sourcing Principles and CLMRS for 5 years or more), child labour prevalence rates have stayed at an average of 4%. At newer partner cooperatives, the average prevalence rate is 13%, which is still significantly below the industry average of 46.7% 3 .
• Governance & finances: Tony’s Open Chain has been scaling rapidly. This growth highlighted the need and desire to further strengthen our organisational design and governance in West Africa. In 2024/25, we focused on deepening our strategic integration across the region by initiating the process of establishing dedicated legal entities in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. Both entities are on track to be operationally launched in the 2025/26 season. On the financial side, we achieved a positive net result of €384,367 in 2024/25 (compared with a loss of €580,383 in 2023/24). Over the past two-years, our net result has remained negative. Tony’s Open Chain does not seek to make a profit; we work on a transparent cost-sharing basis with all Mission Allies. A positive result will go towards building a risk reserve, which enables Tony’s Open Chain to absorb unforeseen costs in the future. 3. NORC at the University of Chicago. Assessing Child Labor in West African Cocoa Farming. NORC, 2020, p.70. Note: The NORC report is considered one of the leading sources for child labour estimates. It was published in 2020 using data from 2018/19. We are keen to obtain updated data reflecting current industry realities, as the figures may no longer reflect present conditions.
Contact us to find out more To join Tony’s Open Chain, or learn more about our work, email us via: join@tonysopenchain.com
6
Ending exploitation in cocoa together
Living income
Climate, environment & productivity
Human rights
Governance & finances
Interesting appendices
Scaling for change
Introduction
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker