Cameroon’s National Cocoa and Coffee Board (NCCB) has renewed its partnership with agritech company COOKO, signing a three-year memorandum of understanding (MoU) to advance traceability, research, innovation and sustainability in the country’s cocoa sector.
The agreement was signed on 10 September 2026 at the NCCB headquarters in Douala by NCCB general manager Michael Ndoping and COOKO manager Epanty Mbanda.
The renewed partnership will focus on first-mile digital traceability, including farm mapping, geospatial monitoring, traceable harvesting systems and auditable transaction data, as Cameroon prepares for evolving international market requirements, including the European Union Deforestation Regulation.
The new MoU updates and supersedes a previous agreement signed by the two organisations in September 2021.
Under the agreement, COOKO’s Cameroon operations will continue to serve as a research and innovation hub for the cocoa sector, focusing on cocoa quality and production, data infrastructure, farmer incomes, agri-entrepreneurship, research and innovation, and policy development.
The partnership will also support research into cocoa fermentation and quality improvement, including Cameroon’s case for recognition as a producer of fine or flavour cocoa under Annex C of the International Cocoa Agreement.
Ndoping highlighted the importance of the partnership as Cameroon works to strengthen its deforestation-free cocoa supply chain and prepare for evolving international market requirements.
He also invited COOKO to join the government’s Sustainable Cocoa Platform, which brings together public and private institutions and international partners to promote sustainable development of the cocoa value chain.
Mbanda reaffirmed COOKO’s commitment to working with the NCCB and contributing its technical expertise to the development of Cameroon’s cocoa sector.
The renewed partnership builds on collaboration since 2021, including the establishment of COOKO’s research and development fermentation centre in Ntui, Centre Region, and the development of fermentation, drying and digital traceability solutions.
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