Ghana is the second largest cocoa exporter in the world.However, many farmers of the crop are struggling. They are mostly smallerholders with aging plantations that are susceptible to disease, and drought brought on by climate change is making life even more difficult. Most of them earn around $2 per day and many young people are leaving their communities for better prospects.
In western The Dutch development organization SNV, Ghana’s Bia District is trying to reverse this trend. It aids cocoa farmers in restoring their plantations and teaches them eco-friendly farming methods.
Smallholder farmers like Orlando Osmanu joined the program in 2016 and is now able to earn a decent living by cocoa farming. Osmanu is also starting up his own cocoa plantation. Global Ideas discovered that Nsowakron has a number of young cocoa farmers on its third visit. Is it possible to see the tide changing?
A film Gerlind Vollmer
Orlando Osmanu, a smallholder, on his sustainable cocoa plantation
Project objective: ConservationSustainable use of forest resources in Ghana’s high forests. The primary goal is to find a better balance between increasing cocoa cultivation and protecting the forest. The communities work with smallholder farmers, cocoa producers, and local authorities to develop supply chains that are free from deforestation.
Project partners: The Netherlands Development Organization (SNV). is implementing in collaboration with the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana and the Forestry CommissionAmong other partners, the Ministry of Agriculture of Ghana. The German Federal Ministry for the Environment is supporting the project as part the International Climate Initiative (IKI)..
Project duration:January 2016 – December 2021
Budget:The German Federal Ministry Environment is funding the project at 2200 euros.
