Côte d’Ivoire is the world’s largest cocoa producer and is well-known for its dominant role in cocoa production. Forty percent of the country’s agricultural exports are cocoa, predominantly grown by smallholder farmers. In recent years, the industry has faced significant challenges, including catastrophic weather events, an outbreak of cacao swollen shoot virus, rampant price volatility, and new compliance requirements from emerging regulations, such as the EUDR. Many of these risks are highly variable throughout the year, which magnifies their impact on smallholder farmers, who rely on the once-per-year harvest of cocoa beans. Agri-SMEs that process cocoa must also navigate these risks, as is the case with Ecookim, the country’s largest cocoa cooperative union and a business that borrows from six CSAF lenders. In the face of persistent threats to the cocoa sector, Ecookim identified the need to diversify for the benefit of its farmers and its business.
In 2020, Ecookim launched EcoCajou, a subsidiary focused on processing and marketing cashew for smallholders across southern Côte d’Ivoire. This new business unit allows Ecookim to diversify its income, protecting against losses concentrated in one crop while also enabling year-round activity, as the cashew harvest occurs in a different season than peak cocoa harvest. For farmers already affiliated with Ecookim, the new venture ensures a reliable offtaker for cashew. Many smallholders have already been growing cashew alongside cocoa, while others are beginning to convert parts of their farms to cashew to ensure year-round income generation. In the Odienné region, where the local climate makes farming cocoa more challenging, diversification into cashew has enabled EcoCajou to extend its reach to farmers who have otherwise struggled to access markets.
Since 2023, EcoCajou has worked with SIDI through its European Solidarity Financing Fund for Africa (FEFISOL). Starting with a line of working credit, SIDI has renewed the initial credit line and expanded to a capital expenditure investment to improve the cooperative’s processing capacity. In less than a year, this financing has enabled EcoCajou to increase the amount of cashew it processes per day from eight tons to over 60 tons. Previously, EcoCajou had to export most of its cashew to Asia for processing, but the new facility can ensure value addition closer to the smallholder farmers. Through the establishment of EcoCajou, Ecookim has been able to diversify its revenue streams, decrease enterprise risk, and reach thousands of additional farmers.