Cote d’Ivoire

ofi established operations in Côte d’Ivoire in 1994. Today over 2 million people across the country earn part, or all, of their livelihoods with ofi, as farmers, employees, service providers and their respective dependents. 

 

We are present throughout the country, sourcing cocoa, coffee and cashew directly from over 185,000 farming families, and via a vast network of local traders. We operate 36 offices, 11 large processing facilities, several primary processing operations and manage over 200,000 square metres of warehouses. 

 

Offering employment opportunities

ofi is one of the largest employers in the country, with over 5,000 employees, including sub-contracted workers. More than 90% are Ivorian and 45% are women. We partner with top schools and universities and professional associations to attract the best talent and integrate them into meaningful career paths. 

 

Releasing individual’s potential

Through programmes such as Growing Olam African Leaders Programme, Graduate Engineering Trainee Programme, Finance Leaders Programme and Leadership Development Programme, high-potential employees receive tailored training and coaching, both in Côte d’Ivoire and abroad, to help them to maximize their potential and enter management roles across our business. 

 

A trusted partner

We work closely with government bodies and industry associations such as the Conseil Café Cacao (CCC), Confederation Générale des Entreprises de Côte d’Ivoire (CGECI), and African Cashew Alliance (ACA). We are trusted partners of development agencies, NGOs and programmes, including the ComCashew (formerly African Cashew Initiative). This enables us to provide full assurance to our customers of our products’ quality and traceability.

Cocoa

Côte d’Ivoire grows 40% of the world’s cocoa, making it the top producing country globally. 

 

ofi established a cocoa trading business in CDI in 1997, today we have the largest procurement network for sustainable cocoa in the country and are the second-largest exporter of cocoa by volume.

 

We are a member of the Cocoa Livelihoods Programme and the African Cocoa Initiative, and a founding member of Cocoa Action to promote productivity and develop communities. In addition to the support of communities, we also seek to protect the environment, as such we are one of the 12 signatories of the Cocoa and Forests anti-deforestation agreement coordinated by WCF. 

 

Our extensive infrastructure includes five bean cleaning and bagging facilities and 16 warehouses. We have  two state-of-the-art grinding facilities, one in San Pedro and  one in Abidjan, producing cocoa liquor, butter, and cake.

 

Read more about our global cocoa business here, and our Cocoa Compass which maps our sustainability goals and activities here.

Cashew

Côte d’Ivoire has quadrupled its crop size to 700,000 MT in the last 10 years, making it the largest cashew producing and exporting country in Africa. It is also one of the largest suppliers of Organic and Fairtrade cashew kernels in the world. 

 

Established in 1994, our cashew business is the market leader for trading. Our supplier base exceeds 35,500 partner farmers and 200 traders, of which 31,000 are supported through sustainability programmes. We have pioneered linking farmers to a guaranteed market and improving traceability for our customers with the support of our in-house digital team.

 

Our infrastructure includes 3 processing facilities in Bouaké, Dimbokro and Djekanou which provide jobs to more than 4,000 workers (of whom more than 70% are women), two factories, 12 satellite units, 15 warehouses, and nine offices. Our “Sustainable Cashew Growers Programme” links farmers from over 350 villages to the factories and has been a 2013 finalist at the Guardian Sustainable Business awards in the supply chain category.

 

 Read more about our global cashew business here, and our sustainability initiatives here. 

Coffee

Through our strong trading network, we buy around a third of the country’s 120,000 MT of Robusta and are the largest exporters to North Africa, Europe and Asia. 

 

One of our desired sustainability outcomes is to help farmers and food systems prosper. Our supplier base includes approximately 13,000 partner farmers and 144 cooperatives, many of whom receive direct farmer training from ofi

 

In addition, we have launched a project to rejuvenate the coffee plantations and distributed over 2,000 hectares of high-yielding coffee seedlings, 60% of which are productive. We finance post-harvest infrastructure including 120 hulling machines. 

 

We are the first 4C-verified coffee exporter in Côte d’Ivoire - an independent verification that our supply chain is sustainable. 

 

Our infrastructure includes a factory, seven warehouses and marketing offices, and two laboratories.

Growing Responsibly in Côte d’Ivoire

In Côte d’Ivoire, we support over 185,000 farmer families from 1,226 farmer associations through our Sustainability Programmes, improving their livelihoods and community well-being and safeguarding natural resources. In 2017, these partner farmers produced more than 200,000 metric tonnes of cocoa, cashew and coffee.

Traceable, high quality products

With our sustainable sourcing models and processing units certified BRCGS, Organic, Kosher, and Fair Trade, our customers can rest assured they are receiving responsibly produced products. Our  sustainability  approach is complemented by third-party certifications, including  Rainforest Alliance, Fair Trade, Organic, UTZ Certified, and 4C. 

 

The Olam Farmer Information System (OFIS) is our innovative, proprietary data solution for farm-level data collection, analysis, and use. OFIS provides customers with traceability and an unparalleled understanding of who supplies their raw materials. 

 

The Analysis Graphing Tool maps farms, social infrastructure, and more, allowing ofi and sustainability partners to identify risk ‘hotspots’ and target their resources. The Farm Management Plan module can provide personalised long-term plans for our partner farmers. In Côte d’Ivoire, over 156,000  cocoa farmers are registered. 

Read ofi news

Press Release Apr 23, 2025
Nestlé and ofi launch global agroforestry partnership in largest collaboration yet
  • Approximately 25,000 farmers across Brazil, Côte d'Ivoire and Nigeria will be trained and supported to convert their farms to agroforestry and implement crop residue management
  • The aim is to plant over 2.8 million trees and cultivate more than 72,000 hectares of agroforestry as part of a transition to regenerative agriculture.
  • It’s estimated to cut more than 1.5 million tons of CO2 over the next 30 years from these activities

 

Nestlé, the world’s largest food and beverage company and ofi (olam food ingredients), a global leader in naturally good food and beverage ingredients and solutions, are launching their largest-ever joint cocoa agroforestry partnership to reduce carbon emissions and combat deforestation.

 

As the cocoa industry faces the dual challenges of rising demand and increased environmental pressures, Nestlé and ofi are stepping up their efforts to create a more sustainable future for cocoa production.

 

Spanning Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire, and Brazil, approximately 25,000 farmers will be supported in transitioning to climate-smart farming, over a 5-year period in each country by implementing agroforestry and crop residue management[1]. These activities will be monitored until 2055, with ofi’s carbon footprinting experts estimating they can cut carbon emissions by 1.5 million tons of CO2 over the next 30 years.  

 

The project aims to cultivate more than 72,000 hectares of agroforestry, as part of a transition to regenerative agriculture. This includes planting an estimated 2.8 million trees, which will be 3rd party verified, from the nursery to the farm. The baselines for these activities have been established using ofi’s AI-powered Carbon Stock Monitoring tool and will be used continuously to track the geolocation of the trees and that they are growing to comply with the objectives set out by Nestlé and ofi.

 

The global partnership builds on 15 years of Nestlé and ofi collaborating on sustainable cocoa and is their largest joint agroforestry initiative to date. It is designed to support Nestlé’s Cocoa Plan and 2050 Net Zero targets while also contributing towards ofi’s Cocoa Compass sustainability ambition, which introduced new targets for regenerative agriculture.  These feed into ofi’s overarching sustainability strategy, Choices for Change, with a vision of being the preferred partner for positive change.

Press Release Mar 14, 2025
Innovative ofi app targeting infant malnutrition wins at UK’s largest sustainable business awards
  • A smartphone-based application being deployed by global food ingredients supplier ofi to tackle infant malnutrition has won the ‘Social Sustainability Project of the Year’ category at this year’s Edie awards, which celebrate sustainability leadership.

 

The Infant Malnutrition System Alert (IMSA) app was developed by ofi sustainability analyst Dr Stéphanie Konan PhD to address high-rates of infant malnutrition in Côte d’Ivoire, where one in five children experience stunted growth and development. It is the first digital health screening service in the country, powered by a geographic information system. By sending alerts to nearby or configured healthcare facilities of registered cases in real-time, IMSA digitized the malnutrition monitoring, enabling quicker treatment, facilitating follow-up, and providing the National Nutrition Program with insightful high level reports.

 

Since 2019, during the Journée d’Intensification des Activités de Nutrition (JIAN) in Côte d’Ivoire, ofi has been supporting the digitalization of malnutrition screening by using IMSA. This annual campaign is part of its existing nutrition and health programs in Côte d’Ivoire, where it sources cashew, cocoa, and coffee from over 185,000 farming families and via a vast network of local traders.

 

In 2024, working in partnership with Côte d’Ivoire’s National Nutrition Program, ofi teams and volunteers screened over 22,000 children in cashew communities in the Béoumi district. 370 moderate and acute cases of malnutrition were identified and referred to healthcare facilities. The app also allows ofi to track every case referred for treatment, allowing for 6-month follow-ups.

 

ofi’s field workers, together with its partners, and local community health workers, also delivered crucial interventions including deworming and Vitamin A tablets, and information on good nutrition – as studies show that infant malnutrition can be largely attributed to a lack of education and low literacy rates.

 

As well as the Edie award, IMSA and its contribution to national efforts to combat malnutrition was awarded the Prize for Research and Innovation by Côte d'Ivoire’s Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research in 2023.

 

The developer of the app, ofi’s sustainability analyst Dr Stéphanie Konan PhD, said: “IMSA was born from a simple idea: that replacing the existing paper-based screening with a digital solution could enable earlier detection and treatment. From that simple idea, collaboration and partnership has built a successful program. ofi’s local teams, embedded in farming communities, have trained community health service agents and established partnerships with local health authorities to reach tens of thousands of farming families."

 

“What’s really exciting is the great potential IMSA offers for scaling up malnutrition screening and interventions across other regions and countries facing similar public health issues. These kinds of innovative ideas delivered at scale are central to delivering ofi’s long-term ambition to help farming communities thrive.

 

Discover much more about what ofi has to offer at ofi.com

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