Barry Callebaut Group, a leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products, together with its premium brand Cacao Barry, has announced Chef Francisco Migoya, USA Cacao Barry Ambassador, as the lead chef for cocoa farming sustainability in support of the Cocoa Horizons Foundation.

This impact driven program focuses on cocoa farmers prosperity and helping to build self-sustaining farming communities that protect nature and children. Migoya will work with Cacao Barry and the Cocoa Horizons Foundation to educate chefs and continue raising awareness on sustainability throughout the cocoa industry worldwide.

Cacao Barry has already met its goal of sourcing 100% sustainable cocoa this year and, with Chef Migoya’s commitment, will continue to create impact through the Cocoa Horizons Foundation, a non-profit organization supported by the brand and the Barry Callebaut Group that focuses on improving the livelihoods of cocoa farmers and their communities through the promotion of sustainable, entrepreneurial farming, improved productivity and community development.

“Being a Cacao Barry Ambassador not only means enthusiastically supporting the high-quality chocolates that I’ve used for years, but being part of something bigger through the Cocoa Horizons partnership, with an emphasis on promoting sustainable practices,” says Chef Migoya. “It’s breathtaking how much progress the Cocoa Horizons Foundation has made, and even more so how much work still needs to be done. I’m honored to be a part of this organization and the initiative to create a 100% sustainable cocoa industry.”

The Cocoa Horizons Foundation’s push for sustainability in the cocoa industry has never been more important as it is estimated that 60% of cocoa farmers in West Africa are living in extreme poverty. As a direct result of cocoa farmer poverty, it is estimated that more than 1.5 million children are working on cocoa farms in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana alone. Additionally, deforestation is a major contributor to climate change while climate change also threatens the ecosystems that cocoa farmers depend on. Among these areas, the Cocoa Horizons Foundation is focused on driving impact in productivity, community and other environment causes to drive meaningful change in cocoa farming communities.