Tire manufacturers will provide medical assistance to Ivorian farmers
Tire companies that are members of the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR) have launched a three-year project in Côte d'Ivoire to provide access to medical care for 1,800 natural rubber farmers and their families, in partnership with the Berlin-based social enterprise Elucid.
"We always talk about improving crops and farming methods, but we overlook something fundamental," said Stefano Savi, CEO of GPSNR. "A farmer who cannot afford to see a doctor when they are sick or cannot go to the farm because their child is sick cannot be productive."
Côte d'Ivoire is the world's fourth-largest producer of natural rubber and plays a crucial role in the supply chains of this raw material for the tire and rubber industries. However, according to GPSNR, smallholder farmers in the country's forest regions face significant health challenges. The country ranks 187th out of 195 in terms of the quality of medical care for its population, and in 2020, only 32% of essential medicines were available in the public healthcare system. Moreover, although two-thirds of the population are formally registered with the national health insurance system, in 2025, less than 4% of residents used their insurance cards.
GPSNR claims that the new initiative "addresses an issue that the industry has long ignored - the direct impact of farmers' health on supply chain performance." In 2017, due to "medical emergencies," cocoa exports from Côte d'Ivoire were reduced by $853 million, and a similar situation is observed in the natural rubber industry. According to analysts from Ghana, including farmers in the national health insurance system increases investments in agriculture by 40%.
"In the absence of proper medical care, health problems can force farmers to sell their property and give up improvements to their farms, which poses a direct risk to the supply chains that depend on them," GPSNR said.
The project partners include 13 major tire and rubber manufacturers, including Goodyear, Hankook, Yokohama, and others.
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