Tripartite meeting between Rikolto, PT. Kalla Kakao Industri (KKI) and representatives from Masagena, Amanah and Cahaya Sehati cocoa farmers’ cooperatives on Monday (18/2) in Makassar, has delivered a sweet deal for cocoa farmers in Sulawesi. Three Rikolto-assisted cooperatives are set to supply 30 tons of cacao beans to KKI, one of the biggest cocoa beans processing companies in Indonesia.
Based on the agreement, each cooperative will send 10 tons of cocoa beans starting this February. The pilot delivery aims to provide insights to KKI regarding the quality of cocoa beans produced and how farmers and cooperative can meet the needs of KKI. At the same time, cooperatives can assess KKI’s professional ability to pay cooperatives on time.
During the meeting, Rikolto presented the potential of cocoa production in its cooperative partners such as Amanah (Polewali Mandar District, West Sulawesi), Masagena (North Luwu District, South Sulawesi) and Cahaya Sehati (East Luwu District, South Sulawesi). Through these three cooperatives, 7,000 cocoa farmers have been engaged in collective marketing.
The meeting provides an avenue for cooperatives to expand its market and negotiate directly with KKI. KKI has cocoa beans throughput capacity of 65,000 tons and it needs a regular and continuous supply of cocoa beans.
Peni Agustijanto, Coffee and Cocoa Sector Manager of Rikolto in Indonesia, said that KKI’s vision and mission are aligned with Rikolto’s. “KKI demonstrates transparency and fairness by involving cooperatives in its business practices and providing fair information to all parties. These are things that Rikolto is promoting through an inclusive business,” he said.
KKI, for example, provided information on differential costs. With this information, cooperatives are aware of business risks and able to develop accurate and detailed business plans to mitigate the risks.
