TITLE:
Sustainability in the Cocoa Production Chain in Côte d’Ivoire: Schooling, Women Empowerment and Household Living Condition
AUTHORS:
Kouadio Kouassi Hugues
KEYWORDS:
Cocoa, Education, Women Empowerment, Poverty, Living Conditions
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.8 No.8,
August
21,
2020
ABSTRACT: With a view to ensuring sustainability in the cocoa production chain in C ?te d’Ivoire, various organizations including cocoa companies
are intervening, through NGOs, in cocoa production areas to improve women
empowerment; improve education, and vocational training of young people with the
ultimate objective of improving the living conditions of cocoa producing
populations. What is the status of the associated indicators? The study
attempted to evaluate the status of the associated indicators regarding living
condition of cocoa famers through education, women empowerment and vocational
training. Base on a combination of probability sampling and qualitative
interviews, 30 communities, 678 children and 360 women were selected
considering beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries of support and according to the
categories of eligible populations and leading to 2291 interviews conducted
overall, and an overall response rate of 92%. Different indicators were
considered to measure literacy and numeracy skills; multidimensional poverty;
and women empowerment. Quantitative methods were used notably ANCOVA and
multivariate data analysis. The main findings are as follows: 1) Living
conditions in the communities are closer to the national situation. Monetary
poverty rate is 42%, with a greater extent among large households; 2)
Children’s French and Math skills are average and those of adult women are low;
3) There is also child labor. In these communities, three out of five children
devote themselves entirely to their studies while one child out of six is at
work; 4) Women are involved in production activities, particularly cocoa
cultivation, food crops and IGAs. However, women empowerment is not relevant.