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YEYASSO is a coffee and cocoa cooperative based in the city of Man, in north-western Ivory Coast, 560 km from Abidjan. Founded in 2006, it is Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance certified for cocoa, as well as 4C certified for Robusta coffee (around 30% of its members grow both). The cooperative has recently started producing small volumes of organic cocoa.
Ivory Coast is by far the most dynamic and best-administered French-speaking country in sub-Saharan Africa. In many respects (infrastructure, agri-food, health, education) and despite criticism of favouritism or lack of inclusion, this country is considered a model of economic development. State support for agricultural sectors is significant and is beginning to bear fruit, particularly in agro-industrial processing (cashews, rubber, cotton), and negotiations on cocoa are becoming increasingly robust with multinationals.
YEYASSO is a medium-sized coffee and cocoa cooperative still in development, with 84% of its products certified, including 15% Fairtrade certified. It has the advantage of being based in the north-west of the country, which diversifies SIDI’s cocoa operations geographically, as cocoa is mainly grown in the south and centre of the country. SIDI could also support the cooperative’s repositioning in order to promote value creation in cocoa through processing.
