Press Release

CNFA-Implemented MOCA Initiative, ANADER Partner To Strengthen Côte d’Ivoire Cocoa Sector

Partnership will leverage ANADER’s local presence in key cocoa-growing regions

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA), an international agricultural development organization, announced that Côte d’Ivoire’s Agence Nationale d’Appui au Développement Rural (ANADER) has entered into a partnership with Maximizing Opportunities in Cocoa Activity (MOCA), a three-year, CNFA-implemented initiative to strengthen Côte d’Ivoire’s cocoa sector.

Under the new agreement, signed Sept. 22 by MOCA Chief of Party Marc Steen and ANADER CEO Dr. Sidiki Cisse, the organizations will collaborate to improve the efficiency of Côte d’Ivoire’s cocoa value chain and bolster the capacity of the country’s cocoa stakeholders.

“ANADER’s expertise and experience in the cocoa sector will ensure that MOCA’s field activities are implemented in a competent and expeditious manner,” Steen said. “I am confident this new partnership will prove to be a major asset in achieving the project’s objectives.”

“Our organization looks forward to assisting the MOCA project in its efforts to improve the economic benefits of cocoa production in Côte d’Ivoire,” ANADER’s Cisse said. “Numerous opportunities in the cocoa sector are just waiting to be exploited—particularly in terms of improving quality, processing, marketing, and resilience to the effects of climate change.”

MOCA, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food for Progress program and implemented by CNFA, works to increase the quality and availability of the production and inputs, improve harvesting and post-harvest handling, facilitate trade relations, and strengthen producers to better meet the international market demand.

ANADER works to improve the professionalism of farmers and agricultural organizations, providing training and consultation to farmers using tools and programs designed to ensure sustainable and controlled development.

Project activities will focus on regions where ANADER has a local presence, including the Nawa, Haut-Sassandra and Indénié-Duablin cocoa-producing regions.

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CNFA: The MOCA project is implemented in Côte d’Ivoire by Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA), an international agricultural development organization that specializes in designing sustainable, market-led agricultural initiatives. CNFA builds strong local and global partnerships, incorporates innovative approaches in its programs, and fosters inclusive development to offer enhanced opportunities to under-served groups. Since 1985, CNFA has managed more than $600 million in donor-funded agriculture development programs and has worked in 44 countries across the world in Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, and South and Central Asia.