Costa Rican-based  Nahua Cacao has joined Business Call to Action (BCtA) intending to improve the quality of life of at least 200 low-income cocoa farming families in rural Costa Rica by increasing their income and strengthening their knowledge through improved sustainable agricultural practices by 2021.

Nahua is Costa Rica’s leading fine flavour cacao and chocolate bar producer supplying leading chocolatiers and cacao buyers around the world. Nahua’s mission is to produce cacao and fine chocolates, of select single-origin quality, that has a positive impact on people and the planet and applies a holistic approach to cacao cultivation with an emphasis on tracking social, environmental and economic indicators. Nahua’s team leads workshops to teach individual smallholder farmers how to better manage their farms by using improved sustainable farming techniques including cacao renovation activities and soil regeneration practices.
 
The company’s suppliers are from Upala and Guatuso, two of the poorest districts in Costa Rica where smallholder farmers barely live above the poverty line and lack access to financing opportunities.

Although most rural families in Costa Rica have access to basic necessities, cocoa family farms are often poorly managed, resulting in very low productivity and reduced incomes. Nahua’s network of over 400 smallholder farmers benefit from above-market prices, up to three times more than local prices paid by intermediaries.

Nahua’s Cacao Renovation Program provides smallholder farming families with the knowledge and the tools they need to renew their abandoned and underproductive cacao forests. By encouraging sustainable and regenerative cacao farming practices, farmers can increase long-term productivity of their cacao resulting in improved livelihoods for families. Nahua’s renovation program monitors performance indicators and identifies areas for improvement to achieve more productive yields and increased incomes for farmers.
 
Nahua promotes a regenerative approach to cacao farming that helps enrich soils, preserve carbon stocks, boost biodiversity, protect watersheds and support a healthy ecosystem that is more resilient to climate change. Producers who participate in the program have the potential to improve the quality of their cacao varieties and more than double their production yields within 24 months.
 
Nahua is committed towards spreading sustainable farming practices and by 2021 plans to include 200 smallholder farmers in its Cacao Renovation Program. Through targeted trainings and workshops, Nahua expects to work closely with 50 select farmers to implement regenerative practices and increase yields by 30 percent by 2022.

Of the 400 small-scale family farmers Nahua works with, 108 are headed by women. By 2023, the company aims to increase the proportional share of women participating in the Cacao Renovation Program by 25 percent – from the current 18 to 64 female farmers. Nahua is a B Corp company, a certification status that reflects a commitment to rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency.