TAKING ADVANTAGE OF KAKAO CERTIFICATION

Later, the certification of agricultural commodities become an important issue in global trade. Trends in commodity certification is based on consumer concerns on various aspects. Call it, the quality of products, health food, how the business of plantation produce these commodities, until they make impacts associated with the social conditions of society.

For cocoa commodity, there are four global certification scheme which is considered the most influential and compete with each other. Namely, Fair Trade, Organic, Rainforest Alliance and UTZ Certified.

Consumer demand, especially from major markets like the United States, the Netherlands, Germany, and England, for certified cocoa products, are extremely high. Consumers are even able to force the giant transnational corporations, which became the main supplier of cocoa world, to have one or more certification schemes as well.

In a report titled Cocoa Barometer 2009, Tropical Commodity Coalition noted, Cargill's commitment to buy 36,000 tons of cocoa UTZ Certified. The Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) and Barry Callebaut will market Fair Trade certified cocoa and organic. Cadbury cooperation with Fair Trade, Blommer and Olam, involved in the certification scheme Rainforest Alliance (RA). While Mars and Armajaro is exploring cooperation with UTZ Certified and RA (TCC, 2009).

This year 2010, market participants predicting the availability of certified cocoa could reach 100 000 tonnes or 3% of world cocoa production. With a growth rate of 40% per year, estimated in 2015, certified cocoa demand will reach 10% of total global production. In addition, the certification of cocoa used as an instrument to protect and organize their domestic market.

Based on the record of the Directorate General of Plantation Department of Agriculture, the national cocoa production in 2008 reached 790 000 tons, with exports of about 515 000 tonnes. With the export value reached U.S. $ 1.4 billion in 2009, cocoa became the third largest contributor of foreign exchange for the agricultural sector, after oil palm and rubber. Greater dependence on international markets caused the local cocoa industry players must adapt to the trends that are happening, including the matter of certification.

Related to the implementation of sustainable cocoa certification, we can look in the mirror in the palm oil industry. The desire of the buyer, international buyers to producers in Indonesia to adopt standards of sustainable palm oil (SPO certificate Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) responded even apathetic. As a result, the oil palm industry in the country experienced negative image internationally, the related impact on the environmental sustainability of palm plantation. These companies, like Unilever and Nestle, with similar reasons, even had to stop the process of buying the oil from their local partners here.

Same as SPO, certified sustainable cocoa actually has a series of incentives. For producers of cocoa, they, among other things will get better prices, increasing productivity or yields, improved market access, and improving health standards and skills of workers. For traders or industry, the certification system can provide absolute assurance of stable supply, the efficiency of market mechanisms, product differentiation and transparency along the supply chain (Roundtable for a Sustainable Cocoa Economy/RSCE2, 2009).

Scheme of Fair Trade, Organic, and UTZ Certified, for example, provides a premium price above the market price of cocoa. In addition, they also provide a guarantee in the form of purchases of long-term contract.

Number of sustainable certification scheme which applies, not only confusing but also burden the small-scale producers in particular. They must carefully choose which scheme to choose to fit the market they want to enter. Not infrequently producers need to commit to two or three different certification, because each of the dominant scheme in different markets.

As a result, not only the duplication process, the burden of costs borne by producers has increased two or threefold. Closely related to the second issue, the costs arising from activities, such as gap-audit, including capacity building and improvement program, until the certification process itself.

Therefore, all stakeholders in the cocoa sector of this country must work together, so that the national industry which relies on more than 900,000 farm families do not become victims of this global initiative. There are several strategies that should be pursued.

First, encourage the harmonization of different certification schemes were sustainable. Despite different approaches, they actually have a lot kasamaan. Call it, which always revolve around the theme of good agricultural practices, welfare workers and local communities, conservation and environmental sustainability and traceability. Meanwhile, at the implementation stage, alignment can be done by establishing a system of internal controls and monitoring-verification along with the recognition of certification-certification.

Second, strive for the financing burden borne proportionately by all sectors, ranging from producers, traders, processing industries and even retailers. These expenses must equal the value obtained by each actor. Cocoa farmers who had been the smallest gain (and bear the greatest risk), worth menaggung most minimal cost as well.

In this case, the government can play a major role. The trick with the reinvestment of revenues derived from customs out of cocoa, to help farmers obtain sustainable certification. With the record, the government guarantees duty out of cocoa, which became effective in April 2010 and then, completely borne traders or exporters. In practice, the customs broker actually turned out to farmers.

Third, Indonesian cocoa stakeholders must be proactively involved in the international cocoa organizations, such as ICCO, RSCE, and in the institutions of global certification. Participation is necessary, to democratizing their governance, voicing the interests of producers, and trying to influence the decision making process that usually only the State-dominated industry and importers. But, most important, is ensuring that all certification schemes can help improve the welfare of sustainable cocoa producer in the world and in this country.