The Government of Ucayali, Peru, adopts strategies to strengthen cocoa and palm oil value chains

In order to strengthen regional competitiveness plans for cocoa and palm oil value chains, the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, with the support of the Office for Economic Development of the Regional Government of Ucayali (RGU), has developed strategies that are already part of the public policy instruments guiding the sustainable development of the region.

Through a Regional Executive Resolution, No. 322-2020-GRU-GR, both strategies have been approved and will serve as updated documents to the existing competitiveness plans for cocoa and palm oil.

In September 2019, CIAT (now the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT), signed a cooperation agreement with the RGU with the objective of promoting and collaborating in the development and implementation of business models for agriculture value chains that reduce deforestation and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The agreement was signed within the framework of the project “Business models to address the drivers of deforestation in Peru – Sustainable Amazon Businesses (SAB)”, led by the Alliance. The project is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI) which is supported by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU).

On August 18 and 21, 2020 both documents were officially presented in virtual meetings with vast participation of representatives of different offices of the RGU, representatives of the private sector and academia. The presentations of the both documents were led by Andrés Charry, Research Associate of the Alliance, who shared the main findings in the analysis as well as the new updated action plan, which includes new activities and goals related to GHG emission reduction and producers’ wellbeing.

Key messages include the need to ensure compliance with the soil conditions for cocoa and palm oil production, since more than 90% of GHG emissions come from changes in land use.

“…from a market perspective we can say that currently there are high requirements associated with sustainability from customers and buyers, while deforestation-free products are positioning themselves as essential. Soon, this will not be a differentiator, but a requirement to enter the market”, said researcher Andrés Charry.

In addition to technical aspects such as the strengthening of the Regional Technical Cocoa and Palm Oil Committees, the importance of aligning the objectives of all the actors related to the both value chains were highlighted. Finally, the need to have an updated and accessible information system for stakeholders for both value chains was indicated.

The Cocoa and Chocolate Strategy was also presented at the Cocoa and Chocolate Show, Peru 2020 Virtual . This event was streamed live and enjoyed the participation of a great number of viewers


 

CONTACTS:

Marcela Quintero, Project Leader and Director of the Multifunctional Landscapes Research Area.

Yovita Ivanova, , Project coordinator.