Queen Mathilde stated on Wednesday during her visit to Côte d’Ivoire, the world’s leading cocoa producer, that "cocoa must become more sustainable".
The Belgian royal specified that the sector should be "deforestation-free, without child labour, yet through decent work conditions for producers."
"This is the message I heard here, and I want to reverberate in other forums like the Global Cocoa Conference," in Brussels on 22 April, declared the sovereign who was in the African country to advocate for the United Nations’ sustainable development goals (SDGs).
On Wednesday morning, Queen Mathilde visited a cooperative cocoa plantation in Méagui, a town in the southwest of Côte d’Ivoire. The country produces annually two million tonnes of the five million tonnes of cocoa produced globally. This plantation, spanning 14,021 hectares with 3,061 producers, cultivates 8,000 tonnes of cocoa per year. However, this year’s harvest will be down by 30% due to excessive rain last year. Besides climate change, diseases and aging trees also hamper production.
Yet the gravest issues in cocoa farming lie elsewhere: deforestation, child labour, and poverty. These problems, in turn, spawn further issues.
Queen Mathilde of Belgium and Ivory Coast First Lady Dominique Ouattara visit the 'Hopital Mere Enfant' hospital in Bingerville, during a royal working visit to Ivory Coast, Monday 04 March 2024. Credit: Belga / Eric Lalmand
On Sunday evening, Queen Mathilde travelled to the economic capital of the country, Abidjan. Here she was received by the Minister of Planning and Development, Kaba Nialé, who accompanied her on her journey. She further met the country’s president, Alassana Ouattara, and his wife.
Throughout her trip, the queen took time to listen to testimonies from young girls living on the streets of the city, victims of human trafficking, exploitation and other forms of violence. She also visited an Ivorian fishing village threatened by rising sea levels and coastal erosion, and met university students each promoting the SDGs in their own ways.
"Fisherfolk, cocoa producers, volunteers working for the victims of sexual violence: the commitments they make to make a difference touch me enormously," Queen Mathilde declared on Wednesday evening.
Queen Mathilde has been a defender of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals since 2016. These 17 goals were adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015 under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
During her visit to Côte d’Ivoire, 13 of them were discussed, including health and well-being, gender equality, decent work and economic growth, responsible consumption and production, and climate action.
