SHERIDAN, WYOMING — June 16, 2026 — An independent evaluation by the KIT Institute shows Nestlé's Income Accelerator program continuing to deliver measurable gains for cocoa-farming households in Côte d'Ivoire. The study, covering nearly 2,000 participating households during the program's test-at-scale phase since 2022, found a 20-percentage-point yield advantage over comparable households alongside sharp gains in women's empowerment and household savings. Nestlé says the findings will shape the program's next phase as it scales toward a broader rollout. For buyers and partners across the cocoa supply chain, the results offer a data point on whether conditional, integrated support models can outperform standard farm assistance during volatile market conditions.
Participating Households Outyielded Peers by 20 Percentage Points
The KIT Institute report found that participating households increased cocoa yields by 4% in kilograms per hectare. Comparable households saw yields fall by 16% over the same period. That gap matters more than it might in a stable season. During the difficult 2024/2025 harvest, participating households produced an average of 2,116 kilograms of cocoa — roughly 500 kilograms more than similar non-participating households. The program appears to buffer farms against exactly the kind of shock that hit the wider sector hardest.
Women's Empowerment Scores More Than Doubled Since 2022
The share of women classified as empowered rose 114% compared with 2022, a gain 66 percentage points higher than in comparable communities. Women's participation in Village Savings and Loans Associations climbed 23 percentage points over the same period. These are not soft metrics tied loosely to the program. KIT Institute links them directly to the model's structure, which routes part of its support through household financial management rather than farm inputs alone.
Integrated Support Model Combines Farm, Household and Cash Elements
According to the study, the program's design — linking farm support, household support, and conditional cash transfers — drove the productivity and income gains together rather than separately. Stronger adoption of good agricultural practices combined with greater inclusion of women in household finances to lift both cocoa output and income. Food insecurity fell 8 percentage points among participants. Savings rose 272 percentage points more than in the comparison group, and the reliability of cash transfer deliveries also improved, the report states.
Cocoa Income Climbed 190% on Higher Revenues
Participating households saw a 190% increase in cocoa income, driven by gains in cocoa revenues rather than diversification into other income sources. That distinction matters for how Nestlé frames the result. The income gain is real, but it is concentrated in the same crop these households already depend on — leaving exposure to cocoa price swings largely unchanged for now.
Income Diversification Remains an Open Problem
KIT Institute's report is candid about where the program has not yet moved the needle. It found no significant increase in income diversification among participating households, even as it credited the program with building foundations that could support diversification over time. Dietary diversity and ownership of productive assets improved, but the report frames these as early-stage gains rather than a solved problem. Reducing exposure to cocoa-market shocks will likely require sources of income outside the crop itself.
Nestlé Frames the Results as a Mid-Course Signal, Not a Finish Line
Stéphane Detaille, Head of ESG for Confectionery & Snacking Strategic Business Unit at Nestlé, said:
"These findings validate our pioneering approach to helping cocoa-farming families in West Africa close the gap to a living income. They show that rewarding effective farm practices, strengthening women's empowerment and building household resilience deliver encouraging results and must go hand-in-hand to deliver lasting impact. They also help us identify where to focus next – particularly on income diversification and protection against future shocks - as we further scale the program to more cocoa-farming families."
Over the next 12 months, KIT Institute will dig further into the drivers of yield improvement, adoption of regenerative agriculture practices, income diversification, and school attendance. Nestlé says those findings will inform the program's next phase. The company is also broadening its role in the TogetherCocoa Foundation, which it co-founded to push industry-wide collaboration on closing the living income gap and strengthening cocoa supply chain resilience.
Partners and stakeholders can review the full program structure at Nestle.