Through cocoa it is possible to contribute to forest conservation, and the Cooperativa Central Cacao de Aroma de Tocache (CECAT) is an example of how business and sustainability can go hand in hand.
On June 20, the project “Consolidating a supply of low-emission, deforestation-free organic cocoa in the member organizations of the Central de Cooperativas Agrarias Cacao Aroma de Tocache“ was launched. This initiative will directly benefit 399 cocoa producers in more than 1,300 hectares of cultivation and will protect 500 hectares of primary and secondary forest. The project is carried out by the CECAT Cooperative and the NGO Solidaridad, with the support and co-financing of the Amazon Business Alliance, a platform promoted by USAID, the Government of Canada and Conservation International, which aims to promote sustainable business development in the Amazon.
The province of Tocache, located in the San Martin region, is widely known for its cocoa production potential and occupies one of the first places in the cultivation of this product. The CECAT cooperative currently groups 700 producers committed not only to this production chain, but also to the transformation of 1,300 hectares of organic cocoa cultivation free of deforestation.
Through the implementation of sustainable agroforestry practices, the CECAT cooperative seeks to improve the quality and productivity of organic cocoa. This will be achieved through technical assistance and the promotion of climate-smart agriculture, with the aim of contributing to forest conservation and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, inclusive practices in cocoa production in the Peruvian Amazon will be promoted.
During the presentation ceremony, the regional manager of social development of the regional government of San Martin, Claudia Vasquez Panduro; a representative of the regional government of San Martin, Manuel Rey Sanchez; the general manager of the cooperative CECAT, Higor Jaramillo, participated; the manager of Solidaridad’s Cocoa Program, Jesús Díaz; CECAT’s technical manager, Julio Panduro; the president of CECAT’s Board of Directors, Ireno Mendoza; and the manager of Alliances of Amazon Business Alliance, Ivo Encomenderos, among other representatives of various institutions.
"What we want to achieve in the end with this project is that the coffee bean that goes out into the world is of the best quality, has zero chemical traces, has organic certification and is free of deforestation, achieving sustainability of the cooperatives through the cultivation of cocoa," said Julio Panduro, technical manager of CECAT.
“Sustainable business models from the environmental, social and economic point of view, are part of the solution to poverty and to address climate change and that is where cocoa comes in, under a logic of agroforestry systems and respect for the rights of people. Projects such as this one contribute to achieving these objectives.”
