Beyond compliance: driving performance in the coffee and cocoa value chains

The vast majority of cocoa and coffee is grown on small-scale farms, for which these crops are a vital source of income. Côte d’Ivoire, which accounts for around 40% of the world’s cocoa supply, sees the sector generate nearly 15% of its GDP and 35% of its exports.

Both sectors are essential to African producer countries and to the Belgian and European agri-food industry, yet face serious strain: climate change, volatile global prices, the spread of diseases… The EU Green Deal is also reshaping access to the European market: for producer countries, these new regulations risk marginalising small-scale farms, but they also offer an opportunity to professionalise and capture a larger share of added value by selling ethical, sustainable products at higher prices.

Enabel promotes an integrated development model for the cocoa and coffee sectors. Through public-private partnerships, stronger local governance and quality-based “of origin” branding, it aims to guarantee a living income for producers while ensuring climate resilience and securing Europe’s supply chains.

Concretely, Enabel helps local cooperatives and businesses, often vulnerable, become dependable economic partners and better equipped to meet international market demands. The goal is no longer simply to professionalise cooperatives, but to turn these initiatives into bankable investment opportunities.
Enabel’s work is structured around eight complementary areas of action, detailed in this position paper.