The video highlights the harsh realities faced by cocoa farmers, exemplified by the story of Kwame, who grapples with the difficult decision of either jeopardizing his cocoa harvest or compromising his children's education by having them work on the farm. Despite contributing significantly to a $130 billion chocolate industry, these farmers remain marginalized, earning less than 7% of the revenue. Their plight stems from historical exploitations that continue to affect the cocoa supply chain today.
The speaker shares a personal connection to the issue, growing up with parents who dedicated themselves to addressing poverty and developing economies. This backdrop, combined with a passion for systemic solutions and advanced technology, drives the speaker to explore ways data and AI can empower farmers like Kwame. By providing them with actionable insights and ownership rights, farmers could significantly improve their yields and economic conditions without relying purely on instinct and hope.
Main takeaways from the video:
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Key Vocabularies and Common Phrases:
1. traceability [treɪsəˈbɪlɪti] - (n.) - The ability to verify the history, location, or application of an item by means of recorded documentation. - Synonyms: (tracking, verification, monitoring)
traceability connects Kwame's farm in West Africa to the chocolate in our shelves.
2. equity [ˈɛkwɪti] - (n.) - Fairness or justice in the way people are treated. - Synonyms: (fairness, impartiality, justice)
The roots of this inequity define me.
3. exploitation [ˌɛksplɔɪˈteɪʃən] - (n.) - The act of using someone unfairly for one's own advantage. - Synonyms: (utilization, misuse, manipulation)
Yet this prosperity came at a cost built on the exploitation of land and labor patterns that persist to this day.
4. cocoa supply chain [ˈkoʊkoʊ səˈplaɪ tʃeɪn] - (n.) - The sequence of processes involved in the production and distribution of cocoa. - Synonyms: (cocoa industry process, distribution network)
To understand the problems in the cocoa supply chain, we have to go back back to the colonial era.
5. colonial era [kəˈloʊniəl ˈɛrə] - (n.) - A historical period when certain countries conquered and ruled over other regions for economic benefit. - Synonyms: (colonial period, imperial era)
To understand the problems in the cocoa supply chain, we have to go back back to the colonial era.
6. systematic solutions [ˌsɪstəˈmætɪk səˈluʃənz] - (n.) - Solutions based on an organized method or procedure aimed at addressing problems effectively. - Synonyms: (comprehensive solutions, organized approaches)
This reality ignited a passion in me, a drive to find systematic solutions.
7. monetize [ˈmɑːnɪtaɪz] - (v.) - To convert an item or activity into money or income. - Synonyms: (commercialize, capitalize, profit from)
Through ownership, farmers like Kwame can also monetize their data.
8. digital tools [ˈdɪdʒɪtəl tulz] - (n.) - Electronic systems or devices that assist with tasks using digital technologies. - Synonyms: (electronic tools, technological devices)
When farmers adopt technology, their kids grow up with digital tools.
9. ethical consumption [ˈɛθɪkəl kənˈsʌmpʃən] - (n.) - The practice of purchasing products that are produced ethically, with consideration of social and environmental factors. - Synonyms: (responsible purchasing, moral buying, conscientious shopping)
As a consumer, you can demand accountability from the companies you support. You can prioritize brands that meet ethical and sustainable standards.
10. ai-driven transparency [ˈeɪˌaɪ ˈdrɪvən trænsˈpærənsi] - (n.) - Use of artificial intelligence to enhance clarity and visibility within processes or systems. - Synonyms: (AI-enhanced clarity, AI-based transparency)
The same principles of AI driven transparency can revolutionize these industries.
The Hidden Cost of Cocoa - Can AI Save It? - Alejandro Soumah - TEDxSanDiego
Next time you unwrap a chocolate bar, pause and consider where it comes from and the tough decisions made by those who grow it. The hidden reality behind cocoa might just change the way you buy your chocolate. When I was 12 or 13 years old, I met Kwame, a family friend and a cocoa farmer in Ivory Coast.
And Kwame. Kwame told me one thing. One of those things that stops you in your tracks and makes you rethink everything that's happened to you in the past. He told me that he had a difficult decision to make. Whether to risk losing his cocoa harvest that he had worked for tirelessly over an entire year, or to take his children out of school to help him with the harvest. That would mean exposing them to tough conditions, carrying heavy loads, handling sharp tools, the type of work that the International Labor Organization defines as the worst form of child labor.
But you know Kwame. Kwame isn't alone. He's together with 70% of the cocoa producers that live under the poverty line. A stark contrast with the chocolate industry that's generated over $130 billion this year alone, making all cocoa producers combined make less than 7% of the final price of the chocolate bar that you buy in your local supermarket.
The hidden reality behind cocoa sustains a bitter price. But why is it like this? To understand the problems in the cocoa supply chain, we have to go back back to the colonial era, when great powers like Britain, France or Portugal introduced cocoa farming to West Africa. Not to benefit local communities, but to fuel European industries. They introduced cocoa farming to Ivory coast and the Gold coast, modern day Ghana, and the area became what we might now call the Cocoa coast, supplying over 65% of of the world's cocoa. Yet this prosperity came at a cost built on the exploitation of land and labor patterns that persist to this day.
This story is deeply personal to me. No, the roots of this inequity define me. My father was over one year old when guinea gained its independence and my mother, a Spaniard, was eight when Spain relinquished its last colony. They met in France, united by a shared dream to develop developing economies.
My father worked in the International Red Cross ICRC for over 20 years, traveling from country to country, deep rooted in poverty, rebuilding communities and agricultural supply chains. I grew up in Kenya, Senegal and Sri Lanka during a time in which globalization felt full of promise. Yet despite their live tenure in foreign aid, I saw their dream, and that of the international aid community fade. For every conflict aided two more arose. For every life saved, even more were lost.
This reality ignited a passion in me, a drive to find systematic solutions. I saw the potential of rigorous mathematical modeling and data driven approaches to solve the problems that goodwill and aid alone could not. This journey has taken me from the classrooms of UC San Diego where I studied mathematics and computer science, to the villages and cocoa farms of West Africa.
And one moment that stands out was revisiting Kwame's farm. During our conversation, he shared how unpredictable cocoa prices left him in the dark, unable to plan for his family's future. When I asked him how he decides when to plant or when to sell, his response struck me. He told me, I trust my instincts and hope for the best. I trust my instincts and hope for the best.
How could someone like Kwame, whose hard work supports not only his family, but is a direct contributor to the entire global cocoa supply chain, be left guessing? It became clear to me that data traceability and ownership were not optional, but they were the foundation of meaningful systematic change.
Data empowers farmers like Kwame. Without it, farmers are left in the dark, unable to plant at the right time and able to sell at the right time. But with the right data, they know what to do. They improve their yields and their lives. traceability connects Kwame's farm in West Africa to the chocolate in our shelves.
And ownership. Ownership ties it all together. When farmers own their data, they own their future. Ownership allows farmers to bypass intermediaries and to negotiate for better prices. Through ownership, farmers like Kwame can also monetize their data. And maybe, just maybe, Kwame is able to take his children back to school and invest in his farms.
Ownership also has a ripple effect. When farmers adopt technology, their kids grow up with digital tools, creating pathways to education and opportunities that were completely unimaginable before. The integration of AI amplifies these efforts. Through AI, we can transform data into actionable insights, being able to predict yield or diagnose diseases all through accessible tools like your mobile phone.
Through AI, data becomes more than information, it becomes a tool for trans formation. So standing on Kwame's farm that day, I realized that the future of cocoa depends on empowering farmers like him through AI tools, allowing farmers to have access to data, traceability and ownership.
Today, our research is already helping thousands of producers improve farm, their yields and their livelihoods. Coco is becoming traceable like never before. With just your phone, you can take a photo of a chocolate bar and trace it all the way back to the producers who made it possible.
And this, this is where you come in. As a consumer, you can demand accountability from the companies you support. You can prioritize brands that meet ethical and sustainable standards. All together, we can transform the cocoa industry into one that works for everyone, from the producers who grow it to the consumers who enjoy it.
And cocoa? Cocoa is just the start. Coffee, cotton, agricultural commodities, and even metals and minerals are next. The same principles of AI driven transparency can revolutionize these industries, helping producers, farmers and miners alike. And hopefully, we can create a more ethical supply chain that extends across the objects that touch every aspect of our lives.
Because if Kwame's story teaches us anything, is that the sweetness of cocoa, the buzz of coffee, the softness of cotton, or even the value of minerals should no longer come at a bitter cost. It's time for all of us to share in the benefits and create a more ethical and sustainable future.
COCOA INDUSTRY, SUSTAINABILITY, AI-DRIVEN SOLUTIONS, INNOVATION, ECONOMICS, TECHNOLOGY, TEDX TALKS