Nestlé Sustainability Program almost doubles women’s empowerment, lifts cocoa income 190%
Nestlé’s Income Accelerator Program increased cocoa income by 190% and more than doubled women’s empowerment ...
Nestlé Sustainability Program almost doubles women’s empowerment, lifts cocoa income 190%
Nestlé’s Income Accelerator Program increased cocoa income by 190% and more than doubled women’s empowerment among participating cocoa-farming households in Côte d’Ivoire, according to a new independent evaluation by the KIT Institute, highlighting the program’s impact on farmer livelihoods, productivity, and resilience.
The study, which tracked nearly 2,000 households during the program’s test-at-scale phase between 2022 and 2025, found that participating farmers outperformed comparable households across a range of economic and social indicators despite ongoing climate challenges, disease pressure, rising production costs, and volatility in cocoa markets.
Women’s empowerment sees strong gains:
The share of women classified as empowered increased by 114% compared with 2022 levels, representing a 66-percentage-point improvement over comparable communities.
Women’s participation in Village Savings and Loans Associations also rose by 23 percentage points, while greater involvement in household financial management contributed to stronger economic outcomes and improved household well-being.
Cocoa income, productivity rise:
Participating households recorded a 190% increase in cocoa income, driven by higher revenues and improved farming practices.
The report found that cocoa yields increased by 4% among participating farmers, while declining by 16% among comparable households, creating a 20-percentage-point performance advantage. During the challenging 2024/2025 season, participating households produced an average of 2,116 kilograms of cocoa—around 500 kilograms more than similar farming households.
According to the researchers, the results point to stronger resilience and farm performance in the face of adverse weather conditions and market volatility.
Household resilience improves:
The evaluation found broader gains in household resilience, with food insecurity declining by eight percentage points and improvements recorded in dietary diversity and ownership of productive assets.
Participating households also increased their savings by 272 percentage points more than the comparison group, while the reliability of conditional cash transfer deliveries improved throughout the program period.
Researchers attributed the results to the program’s integrated approach, which combines agricultural support, household development measures, and conditional cash transfers designed to encourage the adoption of good farming practices and strengthen family well-being.
Income diversification remains priority:
While the program has strengthened the foundations for income diversification, the report found that significant gains in alternative income generation have yet to materialize.
The findings underscore the importance of developing additional income streams to help cocoa-farming households reduce their exposure to commodity price fluctuations and build longer-term resilience.
Scaling impact across cocoa sector:
“These findings validate our pioneering approach to helping cocoa-farming families in West Africa close the gap to a living income,” said Stéphane Detaille, Head of ESG for Confectionery & Snacking Strategic Business Unit at Nestlé.
“They show that rewarding effective farm practices, strengthening women’s empowerment and building household resilience deliver encouraging results and must go hand-in-hand to deliver lasting impact. They also help us identify where to focus next – particularly on income diversification and protection against future shocks – as we further scale the program to more cocoa-farming families.”
Over the next 12 months, the KIT Institute will further examine the drivers behind yield improvements, the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices, income diversification, and school attendance to help shape the program’s next phase.
Nestlé is also expanding its broader cocoa sustainability efforts through the TogetherCocoa Foundation, which aims to accelerate industry collaboration to help close the living-income gap and strengthen the resilience of cocoa supply chains.
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