The problem
Imagine being a smallholder farmer, working your land to make a living. However, you have no legal or even written proof that the land is yours, so your risk of getting evicted at any time is high. Or the agreement for you to be there was verbal, made by a previous generation and subject to change without notice. This insecurity makes you decide not to invest in your land, the risks are too high.
Our solution - CLAP
Since 2019, Meridia has joined forces with industry leaders to test and scale a successful model for securing land rights for cocoa farmers.
This fit-for-purpose solution is a cost-effective, technology-based and participatory method based on technological innovations to support the Ivorian government, cocoa farmers and the private sector in securing land rights formally and help secure the future of the cocoa sector in Côte d'Ivoire.
Secure land rights for cocoa farmers will protect their long-term opportunities and function as an enabling environment for achieving sustainability goals.
The partnership
CLAP consists of founding industry leaders The Hershey Company, Unilever, Barry Callebaut, and Cocoa Horizons Foundation, joining forces with other industry members ETG-Beyond Beans Foundation, Ferrero, Cargill and ECOM.
It is endorsed by AFOR (Agence Foncière Rurale) and managed by Meridia, who executes this project with Audace Institut Afrique, Expert Surveyor CITRAT and CETIF, in partnership with the German Cooperation, implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and commissioned by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
CLAP is also financed by the German Cocoa and Chocolate Foundation and the Fund for Responsible Business (FVO) as part of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) and in commission of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Land tenure in Côte d’Ivoire
Changes to legal and policy frameworks and structures for land tenure security enable large-scale land documentation
However, documents are challenging to implement due to a lack of resources and other factors. Most rural land in the country has not been registered, especially in cocoa production areas where enormous challenges such as high deforestation threaten sustainability ambitions.
Cocoa farmers want to formalise their land rights but cannot afford the total cost and require support. CLAP offers a fit-for-purpose solution that is cost-effective, technology-based and participatory, that supports the Ivorian government, the cocoa farmers and the private sector in securing land rights and the future of cocoa production in Côte d’Ivoire.
“Securing rural land is a major issue for Côte d’Ivoire. Through the Agence Foncière Rurale (AFOR), the government implements its rural land policy, ensuring peaceful access to land and land ownership. In this dynamic, AFOR encourages members of the cocoa industry to support these efforts by contributing to the acceleration of securing rural lands, as part of a win-win Public-Private Partnership.”
David Loué
Deputy director AFOR
What makes CLAP unique
An innovative public-private partnership leveraging funding from farmers, companies, governments and donors
A community-accepted approach sensitive to women and marginalised groups
CLAP builds on synergies on the ground and works closely with the Ivorian government to realise secure land tenure
An implementation model covering supply chains at scale
Efficient processes with the use of technology
Land documentation is bundled with shade tree documentation, as shade trees improve productivity, diversify income sources, help adapt to climate change threats, and protect against uninvited logging (supported by Rainforest Alliance Africa Cocoa Fund)
Support to the community on conflict prevention and resolution
Where CLAP is active
First results
During a celebratory ceremony in Guitry on 12 May 2022, cocoa farmers officially received the first 130 land certificates as part of the first pilot by CLAP. These documents are just the start of an early-scale delivery of over 9,000 documents.
Over 40% of the certificates included women directly. The certificates cover over 580 hectares in Bouboudi and Cochem-Dida villages (Guitry Department).
“I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere and warm thanks to the actors of the CLAP for having listened carefully to the concerns of cocoa farmers by providing them with technical and financial support to improve their access to secure land.”
M. Idrissa Seynou
Sub-Director of Tenure Security, Ivorian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MEMINADER)
Our implementation process
1 Preparation
We select an area and villages to start building relationships with local stakeholders. Cooperatives receive training and engagement.
2 Community entry
We sensitise the community on the importance and benefits of secure land rights and legal land documentation and perform capacity building on the documentation process for farmers, members of the local land governance committees and the broader community.
3 Land registration fieldwork and administrative procedures
We clarify which existing land rights the beneficiaries and involved parties have. We perform farm mapping and legal data collection needed for the land documents, which we get validated and signed off by the authorities.
4 Delivery of land documentation
The delivery of land documentation is a celebratory event that we celebrate with the beneficiaries, like in Guitry.
CLAP's multi-year land tenure projects build on achieving systemic impact
Sustainable impact
Building an enabling environment for effective interventions, as well as long-term social and environmental benefits for farmers, communities and supply chains
Economic impact
Productivity and farm investments (e.g. cocoa rehabilitation, agroforestry, diversification, GAP) increase with legally secure land, improving farmer living income, creating jobs in the village-level economy and enhancing possibilities for the next generation of entrepreneurial cocoa farmers
Environmental impact
Land security improves traceability and transparency and farmer living income, thereby reducing deforestation in forests and buffer zones in proximity and increasing the adoption of regenerative agricultural practices and agroforestry, leading to more sustainable cocoa
Leveraged impact
Impact gets multiplied through synergies and co-funding models, gathering contributions from donors and farmers. Capacity is built with AFOR, incl. handover of innovations and systems for further national scale-up beyond the project, with significant efficacy and efficiency gains in land tenure governance and improved access to services
Quick impact
First tenure documents and high-quality datasets get delivered within 15 months, at a reduced cost driven by volume
“The purpose of the Cocoa Horizons (COH) Foundation is to improve the livelihoods of cocoa farmers. Through CLAP, we expect to support COH farmers in Côte d'Ivoire getting access to more affordable and faster land documentation. This will give them security to further invest in their farms and therefore increase their income.”
Evelyn Nassar
Director, Cocoa Horizons Foundation
Pathway to scale
2020 - CLAP Pilot for operational testing for delivery of Land Certificates
2021-2024 - CLAP Early Scale implementation to deliver 10K+ land documents to cocoa farmers
2025 - Start of CLAP Large Scale implementation to deliver 100k+ land documents to farmers
