The World Chocolate Fair: an opportune showcase to exhibit and promote Haiti’s exquisite cocoa
From October 30 to November 3, 2024, Haitian cocoa will be proudly represented at the 29th edition of the Salon Mondial du Chocolat to be held in Paris, Porte de Versailles, the world’s largest event dedicated to chocolate and cocoa
Paris, France (ILO News). With the support of the International Labor Organization (ILO) through the “Strengthen Agricultural Opportunities through Training and Technological Investment” (PROFIT) project funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, several players in this sector such as –, KALEOS S.A., KAÛNA CHOCO, the Association of Women in Solidarity of Dame-Marie (AFESDAM), the Platform of Agricultural Cooperatives of Grande Anse (PLACAGA), AZAKA, GEONOVA – will travel from the Caribbean to exhibit and sell cocoa products and their derivatives, and to demonstrate the wealth and opportunities associated with this crop.
These partners, operating at different levels of the value chain, are joining forces and speaking with one voice to promote Haiti’s delicious cocoa with its unique flavours. They will also deliver the message of resilience and hope of producers who are courageously investing in the sector, despite the colossal challenges facing Haitian agriculture. At the World Chocolate Show, ILO partners will showcase their expertise in cocoa cultivation and processing into cocoa products; they will also talk about the innovative elements they have brought to breathe new life into this sector. Such efforts have enabled Haiti to obtain fair trade certification on several occasions.
The PROFIT project will highlight the efforts made to offer traders fermented cocoa that guarantees fair and decent income for producers.
Partner companies will also present, exhibit and offer for tasting cocoa from the rich and particular terroir of Haiti, which, once processed, offers the most exotic and refined flavours. It will also discuss the technology now integrated into the management and structuring of the sector, through the implementation of a logistics intelligence system that allows the georeferencing of plots and producers. This guarantees the transparency of the value chain and the reliability of the traceability system as well as obtaining data in real time. This data makes it possible to analyse and assess the state of the value chain to make the right decisions. Capacity building for agricultural service providers, the involvement and empowerment of women, as well as producer cooperatives will also be highlighted to demonstrate this resilience in a country often marked by crises and natural disasters.
This participation of Haiti in the Salon Mondial du Chocolat highlights the potential and the many opportunities of Haiti in various fields, in particular agriculture. It gives rise to the hope that actors with diverse skills and experiences can unite in all spheres of society to contribute to establishing practices that bring sustainable change in the lives of populations.
