When partnerships end: lessons from a cocoa collaboration in Nicaragua

In my 11 years at Rikolto, I've seen many inspiring partnerships take shape. One that has always held a special place in my heart is a cocoa collaboration in Matiguás, Nicaragua. In 2017, cocoa cooperative La Campesina, Rikolto, Puratos, and Belgian retailer Colruyt Group joined forces to bring Nicaraguan cocoa to the Belgian market and to create opportunities for young people. I'll never forget my visit to La Campesina: young farmers spoke with so much confidence about grafting, agroforestry, and quality protocols. Some had travelled for hours, even crossing rivers, just to attend; others were the first in their families to step into leadership, breaking gender and generational patterns along the way. Their determination was unlike anything I have ever seen. A determination to prove that their ideas mattered, for their future, their cooperative, and their communities.

Seven years later, this collaboration has come to an end. But this is not a sad story. What matters is what remains: a strong organisation, capacities that outlive the initial partnership, and lessons to shape future business models.

Colruyt, Rikolto and La Campesina representatives sign the partnership agreement in 2018 in La Campesina's offices, with young cocoa farmers looking across their shoulders

An ambitious partnership

La Campesina, a cocoa cooperative founded in 2000, had 387 members when talks about the collaboration started. With Rikolto's support and Colruyt's sourcing commitment, the cooperative connected to the European market for the first time.

The partnership formulated ambitious goals that went beyond the commercial commitment:

• Increasing incomes of cocoa farmers and creating jobs and opportunities for young people in cocoa;
• Strengthening and professionalising the cooperative's services;
• Promoting sustainable production practices;
• Setting up an inclusive business relationship that offers Belgian consumers a chocolate bar with a social story.

As part of this, two consecutive projects were launched: the "Yes Youth Can" initiative and the "Unlocking Youth Power" project. Both aimed at opening up opportunities for sons and daughters of cocoa farmers, with additional funding of YOUCA and the Colruyt Group Foundation (then called Collibri Foundation). This to tackle a big challenge in cocoa communities in the area: up to 45% of youth have no stable source of income, leading to migration flows, mostly towards the US, and a loss of young talent. So, as part of both projects, 418 young people from La Campesina cooperative and other cocoa cooperatives in the region received training in sustainable cocoa production, grafting, and agroforestry. 74 of them were selected directly for training trajectories at the University of Honduras; the others participated in peer-to-peer workshops at La Campesina. 60 young smallholder producers and entrepreneurs have since accessed inclusive local or national markets, and an equal number have strengthened their soft skills, empowering them to play an active role in the cocoa value chain and within their organisations.

50 of them established new cocoa plots under agroforestry systems, while over 200 others started working on their own plots (often owned by their families) or were employed to work on other cocoa farms. 10 young people also created start-ups producing bio-inputs or providing technical services. And so it happened, that young people gradually became reference farmers and ambassadors of sustainable practices in their communities.

"I have the responsibility to share my knowledge on cocoa management and organic agriculture, and my experience with implementing agroforestry cocoa systems, and bio-factories. I raise awareness about the benefits of biofertilisers to (transitioning) organic farmers. With all the knowledge I now have and what I am implementing, I know that I am going to be a good producer, helping my father and my community." Freddy Mairena, young cocoa farmer and participant of a training course in Honduras, interviewed after the diploma course in 2022

While the knowledge and innovation the young cocoa farmers brought is now widely recognised, it was quite a process to convince the older generation of farmers, many of whom parents of these young women and men, to change their habits and convert their farms into more productive agroforestry systems. But the evidence to start using more sustainable practices such as grafting and pruning was undeniable. When in 2020 hurricanes Eta and Iota hit the area, cocoa farms in traditional production systems were significantly more affected than those in agroforestry systems. And, because of better fertiliser use, grafting, pruning etc, productivity of these youth-led cocoa farms is now up to 43% higher than the average productivity (650 kg/ha instead of the regional average of 455 kg/ha). This also had an impact on the amount of cocoa available at the level of the cooperative for marketing: now up by 18% more as compared to 2021.

The innovation these youth brought in did not go unnoticed: La Campesina also gradually began employing young technicians as internal quality inspectors and trainers. Meanwhile, agroforestry flourished: 95% of La Campesina's cocoa is now grown under shade trees, diversifying income through timber and fruit while improving soil and biodiversity.

One of the first groups of young cocoa farmers involved in the collaboration, in 2018Graduates of the training courses at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras in 2024

The commercial reality hits

From Colruyt's side, a commitment was made to pay a fair price. Contracts ran for two times three years, signalling long-term commitment and giving farmers the confidence to invest.