( CNN ) -- The world 's chocolate makers may specialize in delivering a sweet taste but the government of the Ivory Coast is seeking to address what it sees as the bitter treatment of the farmers who grow the industry 's raw materials . The West African nation was the world 's biggest cocoa producer -- which is the main ingredient in chocolate -- between 2009 and 2010 , rearing some 1.19 million tons of the crop according to the International Cocoa Organization ( ICCO ) . Thanks to a mixture of price volatility , internal instability within the Ivory Coast and a lack of protection from speculators however , an ever smaller portion of the billions of dollars of annual revenue the industry creates finds its way back to the country 's farmers . While this set up may benefit cocoa buyers and chocolate companies , non profits such as the International Cocoa Initiative ( ICI ) have claimed that it forces farmers to pay low wages and encourages exploitative practices such as child labor . Bittersweet times for Ivory Coast 's cocoa industry . But according to Sangafowa Coulibaly , the Ivory Coast 's agriculture minister , central government efforts are now being made to make the cocoa production process fairer and more profitable for farmers . `` The profits made from the sale of cocoa have unfortunately not been beneficial enough to the farmers because of poor governance , '' he says . Coulibaly highlights the fact that farmers receive around a 40 % share in the price of the cocoa they grow . This , he claims , is not commensurate with the costs the process incurs and in the coming years he hopes to see this figure rise to 60 % . He also blames the country 's former president , Laurent Gbagbo -- who refused to concede defeat in elections in October 2010 , leading to a six month long standoff before he was finally forced from power by military force -- for slowing reforms that will benefit the country 's cocoa growers . Now that the political infighting is over and a new government in place however , Coulibaly says that changes will be made to ensure the long term viability of one of the country 's most integral industries . `` Things can only get better , '' he says . `` The political crisis is behind us -- the armed conflict is behind us . Ivory Coast has become a country that aspires to be stable , '' he adds . With the Ivory Coast contributing to roughly 40 % of global cocoa produce alone , such clear intentions of creating a durable and equitable production process should be good news for the world 's chocolate companies , as well as the country 's cocoa farmers . But while Coulibaly is adamant that the central government is genuine in its attempts to help farmers , his words are met with a wary skepticism by those at the sharp end of the debate . Toure Dramane is a farmer and owner of a cocoa co-op deep within the Ivory Coast 's rural hinterland . He says that unless real changes are made to ensure farmers are paid a fair price for their produce they will be forced to employ children and pay low wages , which in turn will create a variety of long term social and humanitarian problems . The human cost of chocolate . `` It 's not our choice ; it 's imposed on us , '' he says of the price he receives for his cocoa produce . `` We ca n't transform it . We produce it and we sell . We get the price that is imposed on us . We ca n't do it any other way . '' Dramane says that promises of reform to make cocoa farming fairer and more profitable have been made many times before . He cites a pledge made by the world 's leading chocolate companies to help end child labor almost a decade ago . `` [ But ] in ten years , nothing has been done at all '' to address this issue he says , ensuring he remains suspicious about the new government 's proclamations no matter how good they sound . With previous broken promises in mind , Dramane adds that he will reserve judgment about whether conditions will be any different or fairer for farmers until he sees the price he receives for his next harvest .
The Ivory Coast is the world 's biggest cocoa producer . The country 's agriculture minister says he wants to make cocoa production fairer for farmers . Cocoa farmers are skeptical about government talks of reform .