Nestlé’s income accelerator is helping close the living income gap in cocoa farming, with early results showing gains in productivity, resilience, and child wellbeing.
Nestlé’s income accelerator program goal is aiming to close the living income gap and reduce child labour risks in the cocoa sector and is showing encouraging results on the ground. During a recent webinar, Nestlé and its partners, including KIT Institute, IDH, and So-B-Green, shared insights and data from the program’s latest evaluation, covering 30 months of implementation. The findings confirmed that the program, despite a difficult cocoa season, is increasing cocoa productivity and household income but also strengthening resilience, improving gender equality, and enhancing children’s wellbeing.
Speakers included:
Oumou Diallo, senior advisor, Impact Economics, at KIT Institute, has assessed the impact of our program and suggests ways in which Nestlé can develop the program further
Faustin Menzan, one of the farmers participating in the income accelerator program in Côte d’Ivoire, shared his experience of the program
Charles Tellier, CEO of So-B-Green, who is implementing the program on the ground, shared his opinion and suggestions on what worked and what can be improved
Daan Wensing, CEO of IDH, leads the program’s advisory committee and provided his industry perspective
Nathan Bello, cocoa plan manager for the CWAR region at Nestlé
Stéphane Detaille, global sustainability manager confectionery at Nestlé
Tony Myers, editor of Cocoa Radar, moderated the discussion
From pilot to scale: a household-centric approach
The Nestlé income accelerator program builds on the legacy of the Nestlé Cocoa Plan, launched in 2009, which has so far reached 180,000 farmers globally. Recognising that income remains a key driver of child labour risks, Nestlé launched a pilot of the income accelerator in 2020, followed by its full rollout in 2022. The program has since expanded to cover 30,000 families across Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, with the goal of reaching 50,000 families by 2026 and an estimated 160,000 by 2030.
What sets this program apart is its household-centric approach. Instead of focusing solely on the farmer, the program supports the entire family unit, with incentives paid equally to both spouses. By promoting shared decision-making and targeting women and children directly, this program aims to deliver more holistic, sustainable change.
How the program works
The program incentivises farming families to encouraging changes in behaviour and rewarding positive practices – both within the home and on the farm. The program focusses on the adoption of four sets of practices:
Children’s education and wellbeing
Good agricultural practices (GAP) (e.g., pruning, composting, agroforestry)
Income diversification (e.g., livestock, small businesses)
Empowerment of women and savings participation
Families receive up to €500 in mobile money transfers in the first two years, followed by €250 in subsequent years as cocoa farms become more productive and resilient. Households must meet specific milestones, such as enrolling children in school or completing pruning activities, to receive these funds. Payments are delivered directly to both spouses, helping to redistribute decision-making power within the home.
Evidence of impact: what the KIT report shows
An independent impact assessment led by the KIT Institute reveals that the Nestlé income accelerator program is delivering significant improvements for household resilience:
Higher cocoa yields and productivity
Despite a difficult 2023–2024 cocoa season marked by price volatility and supply disruptions, households enrolled in the IAP achieved 18% higher cocoa yields than the comparison group. On average, this amounted to 79 kg more cocoa per hectare. Farmers in the program were also more likely to adopt improved practices such as high-quality pruning, weeding, pest control, and shade tree management.
Greater investment and resilience
Nestlé income accelerator program households invested an average of $81 more in their farms in 2024 compared to non-participants. These investments were made possible by higher cocoa revenues and the cash incentives, which helped families overcome seasonal cash-flow challenges.
The program also helped build resilience, defined in the KIT report as the household’s capacity to withstand and adapt to shocks. This included increased ownership of productive assets (e.g., tools, livestock), better food security, and improved access to financial services.
Women played a key role in driving resilience. Through Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs), women saved twice as much and borrowed larger amounts than their peers in the control group. The average woman in the program saved $134 in the past year. These funds are often used for household expenses, school fees, or investing in small businesses.
Empowering women and improving children's wellbeing
The Nestlé income accelerator program incorporates Gender Action Learning System (GALS) training, is a participatory method that enables women, especially those who are illiterate, to develop business plans using visual tools. By participating in this training, many have launched successful ventures such as gardening, beekeeping, sewing, and juice production. Local implementation partners, such as So-B-Green, supported this work on the ground by facilitating business development and access to savings groups.
Working with the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI), the program uses a validated tool to track children’s mental wellbeing, based on a set of five questions covering their emotions, relationships, and home environment. Results show that children in income accelerator households experienced a 31% improvement in wellbeing scores. School enrolment, especially among younger children aged six to eight, also increased. The program is helping to ensure that children don’t miss the critical early years of education, often the key to long-term learning and development.
Scaling up and looking ahead
While the program is delivering positive results, challenges remain. Diversification of income beyond cocoa has not scaled as quickly as hoped. Structural barriers (including lack of access to markets, business mentorship and value chain linkages) are still limiting growth in this area. Nestlé plans to respond by simplifying the program structure, focusing on two core incentive triggers; on a farm-level, the focus will be on pruning, and on a household-level, the focus will be on school attendance.
Nestlé is also exploring how to increase farmer ownership. For example, pruning services are now 50% co-financed by farmers, promoting buy-in and sustainability.
Final thoughts
One of the strongest messages from the webinar was that Nestlé cannot do this alone. The income accelerator program was designed with scale in mind, and as a platform for shared learning and collaboration across the cocoa industry.
As climate pressures and economic volatility threaten the viability of cocoa farming, Nestlé’s income accelerator program offers a powerful example of what long-term, systemic solutions can look like. By centring families, empowering women, investing in education, and building farm resilience, the program is not only transforming cocoa supply chains but also demonstrating how business can create shared value. The challenge now is to maintain momentum, scale responsibly, and keep learning.
Amsterdam
21st - 22nd October 2025