Cadesa
CADESA: Cocoa Producer in Ivory Coast
Found along the Sassandra river in Abedem, a region in south west Ivory Coast, is a diverse landscape of tropical rainforests, savannas, hills and plateaus. It is also home to CADESA (Coopérative Agricole pour le Développement de Sassandra), an agricultural co-operative which currently supports over 2,200 members with the collection and marketing of their products.
Established in 2003, CADESA’s main activity is the production, collection and export of cocoa beans, however, they also grow and harvest coffee, cashews and rubber throughout over 10,000 hectares of land.
Pictured: Shared Interest Lending Manager for West Africa, Divine Buo (C) and Customer Representative for West Africa, Kwami Dekonor (L), meet with associates of CADESA co-operative.
SHARED INTEREST AND CADESA
CADESA became a Shared Interest customer in 2017, and have since used our finance to construct a central warehouse, purchase two new tractors and one new truck, helping to transport cocoa to processing units. They have also used our finance to purchase more cocoa from farmer members.
Managing Director, Esther N’goran, said:
“Shared Interest started supporting us when we had no relationship with any other financial Institution, it shows the confidence they had in us. Now a lot of other partners are chasing us up for collaboration every day.”
Image: CADESA Managing Director, Esther N’goran, celebrates the receipt of an award with colleagues.
FOR TOMORROW’S HARVEST, SOW TODAY
CADESA are acting on their slogan, ‘for tomorrow’s harvest, sow today’, by harnessing technology to evolve their supply chain.
Farmforce is a groundbreaking digital tool which is reshaping the way cocoa co-operatives operate, whilst bringing a host of benefits to cocoa producers across the region.
The application is designed to enhance the operations and efficiency of cocoa co-operatives in Ivory Coast by leveraging technology to streamline various aspects of the cocoa production process.
Managing Director, Esther, said:
“Partners call us for different reports every time and we sometimes have to call field offices and producers to get these reports, but with the Farmforce, all reports including financial reports are available at the touch of a button.”
Esther explained that Farmforce will help CADESA to:
- Collect accurate and real time data directly from cocoa farmers, including farmer profiles and land sizes
- Improve traceability by tracking the movement of cocoa beans from farm to warehouse
- Ensure transparency and verification of the bean origin and quality
- Facilitate digital payments to producers and farmers through mobile or bank transferrals
- Reduce risks, inefficiencies and insecurities associated with cash transactions
- Manage inventory and stock levels by arranging logistics
- Provide analytical data insights and compile various reports, accounts and forecasts.
Cocoa farmer, Nemlin Amand, said:
“We sometimes struggle to compile our stock supply reports and reconciliation for payment purposes, but with Farm Force, it records and calculates everything automatically. This prevents any cheating or fraud.”
Training in the use of the application is taking place now and it is hoped Farmforce will be introduced for all CADESA farmers later this year. The technology will bring a range of benefits to farmers including transparency, quality assurance, access to finance, better negotiations with buyers as well as access to data and harvest projections.
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