Post by Farmforce

Amsterdam Cocoa Week is always dense, but this year felt unusually clear-eyed. The conversations throughout the week kept converging on the same reality: cocoa’s challenges are stacking. Volatility is no longer just a “market moment”; climate and disease risks are accelerating; regulatory expectations are multiplying; and the sector is being asked to demonstrate progress with credible, auditable evidence. A point that came up again and again was how quickly expectations are shifting from having data to using it with confidence—in day-to-day decisions, in due diligence, and across complex, multi-actor supply chains. That’s where the “how” matters: data quality, polygon QA, chain-of-custody integrity, and the ability to document mitigation in a way that stands up to scrutiny. During the week, Farmforce joined two panels:  • From Bean to Border (Rodney Muriuki): bringing a first-mile perspective to what compliance requires in practice.  • The Potential (and Risks) of Data-Driven Solutions in Cocoa (Saurav Shrivastava): discussing why pre-competitive collaboration doesn’t require data surrender, and why tech design (ownership + controlled aggregation) is key if we want to reduce duplication and make data usable for decision-making. We’ve captured the main themes and moments in a short recap blog 👇 https://lnkd.in/emWaTag7 And if you missed it, we also hosted the Farmforce Traceability Barometer launch, in partnership with Meridia. A dedicated deep dive on the Barometer findings is coming next: more detail, more numbers, and what they mean for the sector. Stay tuned. Finally, a big thank you to the organizers and partners who made the week possible—especially Chocoa and the World Cocoa Foundation teams—for bringing the community together and creating space for frank, practical discussions. #cocoa #sustainability #traceability #EUDR #supplychains #AmsterdamCocoaWeek #Chocoa