(Ecofin Agency) - In Côte d'Ivoire, producers and co-operatives operating in the cocoa sector could benefit from mid-term financing in order to rent lorries for the transportation of their production. This initiative is the result of a partnership between Cargill and the International Finance Cooperation (IFC).

The loan, of a three years tenor, is offered at a discounted rate to co-ops which took part in the Cargill Coop Academy. Its aim is to bring a solution to the logistics difficulties faced by cocoa producers, and which can have a strong negative impact on their production.

This initiative is the latest in the Cargill Cocoa Promise launched by the trader. A programme which creation is justified by the critical importance of farming communities in the future of the sector.

"Up until now these communities did not have at their disposal the means to access the necessary funding to make their activity grow and sustainable", said Lionel Soulard, Managing Director of Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate for West Africa, before stressing that prosperous co-ops are vital for the future of cocoa.