Entry: Holly Houston, World Cocoa Foundation

Several of us have just returned from a very exciting and productive week in Ghana for the 20th WCF Partnership Meeting, our first one held in West Africa! We had more than 300 participants during the conference presenting and discussing cocoa sustainability issues facing the sector, highlighting the progress to date, and emphasizing the call to action for the future to tackle the challenges facing farmer households and the sustainable supply chain. We graciously thank our partners at the Ghana Cocoa Board for their dedicated support and hospitality during the successful week.

For many of our participants, this marked their first time in Ghana and field visits were offered at the beginning of the week to a WCF Cocoa Livelihoods Program (CLP) community in the Eastern Region, introducing the farmers to the WCF industry members. The community of Oforikrom graciously welcomed our group of 40 WCF members to visit their farms and see how the WCF Cocoa Livelihoods Program is improving their lives. For the majority of the households in Oforikrom, agriculture is the primary source of revenue with cocoa serving as the main cash income. There are around 200 cocoa farmers in this community of 500 people and the WCF CLP has been providing farmers training in good agriculture production practices, managing the farm and other sources of income as a business through the farmer business schools, and proper measurement of and safely applied inputs. The farmers were eager to share the lessons learned thus far from the trainings to our visitors. One farmer said he had previously thought his farm was 5 acres in size when in fact it is 4 acres after learning to properly measure the size following the farmer business school. He said he has been overhiring labor and overpurchasing inputs for his farm. Another farmer spoke of managing the timing of cash in and cash out of his farm income throughout the year, and that it permitted him to purchase his child’s school supplies. A woman farmer reiterated the value of the training provided via videos in the community that she could refer to numerous times for better practices on her farm, including proper pruning to prevent overgrowth and mistletoe infestation.

The take-aways highlighted by these farmers speak to the impactful value of the trainings and services provided through the WCF programs. Neighboring communities are seeing the positive changes of the farms and have petitioned our on-the-ground partners for training and support, seeing the tangible benefit of applied good practices through more bags of healthy cocoa beans. We are highly encouraged by this momentum and thank our industry, government, and NGO partners for their ongoing support to further strengthen cocoa communities.

Entry: Bill Guyton, World Cocoa Foundation

The World Cocoa Foundation co-hosted our 20th Partnership Meeting and Roundtable Sessions with the Ghana Cocoa Board in Accra last week. The meeting theme of “People, Planet, Profit: Envisioning the Future of Cocoa in Africa” brought together experts from the cocoa sector to speak on a number of important topics including quality cocoa and the value chain, child labor prevention; soil fertility and the environment; cocoa and climate change; lessons from other crops; and meeting national development goals. Over 300+ participants joined the meeting including farmer groups, government representatives, development agencies, WCF company members, and NGOs.

On the second day, Minister Mensah delivered a powerful speech that highlighted the increased efforts and commitment by the Government of Ghana in addressing the worst forms of child labor. He noted that poverty is a key cause of child labor and that we must all work together to improve the lives of cocoa communities, and ultimately, that it is our responsibility to ensure that children are protected. WCF and the Ghana Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare signed a memorandum of understanding confirming collaboration towards improving livelihoods by empowering and strengthening cocoa-growing communities through economic and social interventions. Côte d’Ivoire representatives, the International Labor Organization, U.S. Department of Labor and International Cocoa Initiative also provided an update on the efforts underway to address child labor in the cocoa sector.

We thank our sponsors Armajaro Trading Ltd, Kraft Foods, Cargill, Nestlé, ADM and the Ghana Cocoa Board for helping to make the meeting a success.

As always, we appreciate the support of our members, partners, speakers and sponsors who helped make this a meeting a truly memorable and successful event. We extend our sincere thanks to our Chairwoman, Anne Alonzo, for representing the World Cocoa Foundation. We hope to see you all in June 2012 for the 21st Partnership Meeting and Roundtable Sessions in Washington, D.C.!

Pictured: Paul Asimenu, Director of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Ghana; Anne Alonzo, Vice President, Global Public Policy, corporate affairs, Kraft Foods and WCF Chairwoman; Dr. Percival Y. Kuranchie, National Investment Bank; Bill Guyton, President, WCF; Anthony Fofie, Chief Executive, Ghana Cocoa Board.

Pictured: Hon. Enoch Teye Mensah, Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, Ghana; Dr. Raymonde Coffie Goudou, Minister of Family, Women and Children, Côte d’Ivoire.

Entry: Mbalo Ndiaye, World Cocoa Foundation

As the Director of the World Cocoa Foundation Cocoa Livelihoods Program (CLP), I was very excited to invite farmers from different communities we serve to participate on a farmer panel during the 6th CLP Steering Committee Meeting last week in Accra, Ghana. For the first time, farmers with various experiences with the program were given the opportunity to interact directly with members of the Steering Committee and testify on the benefits and perceptions they have vis-à-vis the services provided by the WCF CLP.

Joseph Akyemfo, a 40-year old cocoa farmer and Emmanuel Yaw Kwaakye, 54 years old, both from the Eastern Region of Ghana, and Stephen Y. Ahenkorah from the Western Region exposed their perceptions of the program and the impacts it generated on their individual life and that of their respective families and communities. Unlike Joseph and Emmanuel who received training and input services from the program, Stephen has not yet joined the program. But he came to voice out his community’s petition to participate in the program as they witnessed drastic increases in productivity from their neighboring 30 farmers who attended production and business trainings. Joseph, who received both sets of trainings and inputs, reached for the first time, since taking over cocoa production from his mother’s 3 acre farm, a record production of 30 bags from an average of 8 bags during previous seasons. As a result of this, he was able to pay all school fees for his children. In addition, Joseph has gained training capacity for his peers who call him “Extension Officer” for his voluntary assistance he regularly provides to second recipient farmers. The change on Emmanuel’s life is certainly the most significant among the group as after 14 years of cocoa farming, it is only this year, with the production and business skills training he received, he was able to double his production on the same land and hopes to reach 35 bags by the end of season.

These experiences portrayed by the farmers, spoke in a way that was much more impactful than the monitoring reports we typically issue and which in many cases describe our perceptions and conclusions. I look forward to expending this dialogue with farmers through focus group discussions during impact surveys.

Pictured from left to right: Emmanuel Yaw Kwaakye and Joseph Akyemfo, both from the Eastern Region of Ghana; and Stephen Y. Ahenkorah from the Western Region.

Entry: Margaret Odotei, World Cocoa Foundation

October 27th marked a milestone in WCF’s relationship with the Government of Ghana. On this day a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed by WCF, represented by its President, Mr. Bill Guyton, and the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare, represented by Hon. Enoch Teye Mensah, the sector Minister. The MOU is a cooperative agreement to formalize the ongoing working relationship with the National Programme for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour in Cocoa (NPECLC), a department of the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare. It is a remarkable step for the 2 parties as we work in cocoa-producing communities to provide economic and social interventions which empower communities, improve livelihoods and reduce child labour.

It was a very exciting time of day two of WCF’s 20th Partnership Meeting and Roundtable Sessions held in Accra (the first to be organized in Africa). The signing ceremony was momentous as it was witnessed by the over 300 participants from the cocoa supply chain at the Partnership meeting who all have been contributing in various ways to ensure a sustainable economy and enhance the lives of men, women and children in cocoa-growing communities.
It felt rewarding for the Minister to commend WCF and its Partners’ work in Ghana. Hon. E.T Mensah also addressed the conference about the efforts of the Government to eradicate the worst forms of Child Labour in the country as well highlights of a just ended visit by Senator Harkin’s to some cocoa-growing communities in Ghana.

Pictured left to right: Hon. E.T. Mensah, Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, Ghana; Margaret Odotei,Technical Coordinator, WCF ECHOES; Bill Guyton, President, WCF.

Entry: Mike Godfrey, World Cocoa Foundation

As many of us know, millions of small scale farmers in West Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia depend on cocoa for their household incomes and livelihoods. But is there a link between cocoa farming and food security? In our opinion, the answer is “yes” for several reasons.

First, as a perennial tree crop, good cocoa cultivation fosters crop diversity and the integration of other food crops, especially plantain, oil palm, cassava, fruit trees, and coconuts in permanent association. Managing these associations is far more profitable on a per hectare basis, greatly aids family food availability and contributes to better environmental stewardship.

Second, cocoa-focused training and capacity development activities produce transferable skills and benefits; a good cocoa farmer is a good farmer. For example, a farmer who applies fertilizer to cocoa will also be applying fertilizer to the plantain growing alongside it. Likewise, an extension staff person who develops skills on designing a cocoa farmer training program can apply those skills to develop a training program for another crop. Both of these outcomes directly attend to the element of food availability.

Third, as a cash crop it can significantly improve household incomes and enhance food security by affording greater access (purchasing power) to the market for foodstuffs. Finally, cocoa as a national export is a substantial counterbalance to the cost of other food imports (especially wheat and rice for urban populations), offsetting by more than 3:1 the value of those commodities for the entire region. Overall, cocoa farming is an integral part of a food security calculation and is reflected in the national agriculture priorities.

Entry: Yoshinori Doi, Meiji

The 20th Partnership Meeting was held in Ghana at the end of October.
Some of us attended the field trip to Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) in New Tafo, to learn about research work on cocoa, coffee, shea nut, kola and cashew nut, the previous day of the meeting.

On the way to CRIG, we dropped in at Tetteh Quarshie’s Cocoa Farm and saw two kinds of original cocoa trees that were planted in 1879!

After Tetteh Quarshie’s Farm, we went to COCOBOD Jubilee Cocoa Farm in Akwapin - Mampong, where some of us including me, had visited before during Ghana Cocoa Tour operated by WCF and COCOBOD in 2007, and planted and registered some young cocoa trees with GPS.

At first, I couldn’t believe my eyes.
I happened to find a cute little pod bearing on my tree!
It would be my first crop in Ghana!
That’s a one small pod for Ghana, but one giant fruit for me.

My sincere thanks to WCF staff and COCOBOD for a well-organized field trip.
I believe my tree will contribute to the one million MT productions for the current season in Ghana.

Pictured: Yoshinori Doi, Meiji, WCF Member
Photo credit: Caitlin Smith, Euromar

Entry: Caitlin Smith, Euromar Commodities

I was thrilled to get to attend my first WCF meeting in Accra about a month ago now. Being new to the cocoa industry, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect heading down to Africa for a conference. At the recommendation of my colleague (thanks, Mary!), I signed up for the field visits to have the opportunity to interact with some of the farmers, visit some farms and hear their impressions of the impact of the WCF CLP program.

I had been to Tanzania a number of times, so was familiar with the village atmosphere and approach – or so I thought! We first arrived and shook hands with each of the village elders, who were sitting on plastic chairs under a tent, waiting for us. My favorite was the gentleman in the stunna shades and his traditional garb. (See picture for evidence.) We were able to speak with the farmers about their processes in cocoa, their farming practices, and what they had learned from the Cocoa Livelihoods Program. I was especially pleased to see how the farmers spoke with absolute pride and a sense of deep accomplishment about the skills they had learned. The positive impact was impossible to ignore.

We then went down to some of the farms, where I was taught how to crack open a pod (that got some laughs) and we were able to taste some of the fresh cocoa and put our arms elbow deep into a big pile to assist in mixing before the start of the fermentation process. Messy, but FUN!

Overall, the experience at my first WCF meeting was one to remember. I was able to meet so many people – farmers and WCF members alike – all with such diverse and fascinating stories and experiences, and was able to create some new memories of my own.

See you all in DC in June, 2012!

Entry: Marisa Yoneyama, World Cocoa Foundation

In the United States, approximately 68,450 jobs are directly linked to chocolate and confectionery products. These jobs are spread out over 35 states, with particular concentration in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Illinois, California, New York, Wisconsin, Texas, Virginia, and Ohio. In Pennsylvania, the largest chocolate-producing state, there are approximately 10,000 jobs attributed to chocolate and cocoa.

The Patriot-News recently published an op-ed by WCF president Bill Guyton that discusses the role that cocoa plays in livelihoods for people both in Pennsylvania and West Africa.