Fairtrade International, together with Proforest and Fairtrade Africa, has launched a three-year project to promote deforestation-free cocoa in Ghana. Titled Partnership for Deforestation-Free Cocoa Supply Chains, the project is funded by a grant from the International Climate Initiative (IKI) and co-funding from Fairtrade Germany.

The project aims to help members of four Fairtrade cocoa cooperatives meet the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and adopt climate-resilient farming practices, while tackling root causes of deforestation by improving farmers’ incomes and  increasing market access. Activities will reach more than 14,000 smallholder cocoa farmers, 35 percent of whom are women, and their households across Ghana’s Ashanti, Eastern, and Ahafo regions.

Bringing together farmers, government institutions and cocoa industry stakeholders, the project focuses on key activities such as training in dynamic agroforestry and regenerative agriculture practices, implementing traceability systems, enhancing financial inclusion, and advancing gender equality and youth participation.

"From the EUDR to the Corporate Social Responsibility Due Diligence Directive, positive regulatory steps are being taken, yet a lot of pressure is ultimately landing on small-scale farmers to clean up supply chains, which is fundamentally unfair," said Melissa Duncan, Acting Managing Director of Fairtrade International. “This initiative will not only make sure cocoa cooperatives are ready for EUDR data requirements, but will also provide support for farmers to build the future of a more sustainable cocoa sector."

Ghana’s 800,000 cocoa farmers, who produce the second largest volume of cocoa globally after Côte d’Ivoire, face significant challenges. Deforestation, driven by income pressures, and climate change resulting in falling productivity and profitability are all putting farmers’ livelihoods at risk. The introduction of the EUDR to require certain imported products to be deforestation-free is an important step. But many smallholder farmer cooperatives are struggling to meet the administrative requirements of the regulation, especially the need to provide trade partners with geolocation data for all farms and prove farms are not on formerly forested land.

That’s why this project first tackles EUDR readiness, providing support to cooperatives on data collection and management in the near term, as the EUDR will take effect at the end of 2025.

Going beyond the EUDR, the project will also address economic and social pressures that drive deforestation and trap farmers in poverty, through a range of activities:

• Training by Proforest and equipping farmers to adopt dynamic agroforestry regenerative agriculture practices, including rehabilitating 200 hectares of old, non-productive cocoa farms and turning them into up to 10 demonstration farms;
• Engaging women – and male allies – in training and mentorship according to Fairtrade Africa’s successful Women’s School of Leadership to develop skills in leadership and farm management, including public speaking, gender-equitable representation, income diversification, project management, strategic negotiation, financial management and entrepreneurship;
• Building on the model of Fairtrade Africa’s Young Cooperative Managers Academy by providing training to young people in leadership and entrepreneurship, including in managing tree nurseries and rehabilitating farms;
• Connecting women and young people to financing to develop alternative income sources, through village savings and loan associations (VSLAs);
• Training on Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence (HREDD) as part of efforts to address human rights abuses from cocoa supply chains, including child labour and human trafficking.

Importantly, in terms of national policy and regulatory support, the project will bring together eight local authorities in the three targeted districts working with government entities including the Forestry Commission, Ministry of Agriculture, and national cocoa boards. This will ensure that the project is aligned with the Forestry Commission’s forest protection strategy, and also that learnings and knowledge are shared with the agencies and can be scaled up to other communities.

Finally, Fairtrade and the cooperatives are engaging chocolate companies – those that already source Fairtrade cocoa from Ghana as well as newcomers – to share progress in strengthening their supply chains in the areas of forest protection as well as rights and opportunities for women and young people that aim for more sustainable cocoa livelihoods.

Following a virtual kick-off meeting held in December, the project partners will launch meetings and activities with producer organisations and local authorities in Kumasi, Ghana, in the first week of February.

Want to learn more? Visit our impact map or contact partnerships@fairtrade.net.