RESEARCH NEEDS FOR SUSTAINABLE COCOA PRODUCTION IN GHANA
In recent years, many new projects have been established that work on different aspects of sustainable cocoa production. These projects often aim to use an integrated landscape approach to address their objectives in a holistic manner. However, few practical examples exist of this approach in cocoa landscapes. Therefore, many questions are unanswered or even unidentified.
The information on this website is drawn from a report that was written as background study for the establishment of a research agenda for a potential cocoa-biodiversity corridor in Ghana. During the literature review it became clear that a complete overview of the challenges and opportunities in cocoa production was lacking, and this report aimed to fill that gap. This was confirmed during interviews, when many experts expressed their appreciation of the establishment of a research agenda with a holistic perspective.
The resulting report described a broad overview of research topics related to sustainable cocoa production in Ghana and was considered relevant for everyone working in this sector, including in project implementation, policy development and scientific research. Therefore, we decided to create this website based on the report, to make the information accessible to anyone who is interested. We hope this website helps to highlight niches in research and project implementation and to find potential areas of collaboration.
ABOUT THIS WEBSITE
This website is based on a report by Maartje de Graaf, that was written for the Minor Research Project as part of the Master Environmental Biology at Utrecht University. The research was conducted for (and funded by) Tropenbos International (Ghana) as scoping study for a potential joint project with the Rainforest Alliance and Conservation Alliance. The student project received additional funding from Miquel Fonds, Alberta Mennega Foundation and FONA Foundation.
References:
Barry Callebaut Group. (2014). Full-Year Results Fiscal Year 2013/14 of the Barry Callebaut Group.
Ford, T., Vit, J., Neate, R., Branigan, T., & Saner, E. (2014, November 21). The cocoa crisis: why the world’s stash of chocolate is melting away. The Guardian.
ICCO. (2014). Production of Cocoa Beans.
World Cocoa Foundation. (2015). The cocoa value chain faces a number of challenges in growing and selling this delicate crop. Retrieved April 16, 2015, from http://worldcocoafoundation.org/about-cocoa/challenges/
ABOUT COCOA IN GHANA
It was all over the news: we are running out of chocolate. The Barry Callebaut Group, the largest confectionary producer, expressed concerns about their supply in the annual report for 2013/2014 (Barry Callebaut Group, 2014). It was soon picked up by the media and dubbed the “cocoa crisis”. With global demand rising and supplies dwindling, it was predicted that by 2020 there would be a global shortage of cocoa (Ford, Vit, Neate, Branigan, & Saner, 2014). As a result, there is an increasing focus on the sustainability of the production of cocoa beans, over 70% of which takes place in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana (ICCO, 2014).
Not only cocoa productivity, but also the livelihoods of cocoa farmers are increasingly becoming a topic of concern. As in many other parts of the world, cocoa farmers in West African countries are often poor. At the same time, governments and NGOs have been pointing out the consequences of cocoa farming for the ecosystems in which it takes place, such as the Guinean Forests in Ghana and Côte d’Ivore. Not only does forest encroachment for cocoa cultivation lead to biodiversity losses, it is also thought to negatively affect cocoa production on the long term. Taken together, the low cocoa productivity, poor livelihoods and the impact on the ecosystems, create a negative spiral which is of concern to those who are directly and indirectly involved in the cocoa value chain (World Cocoa Foundation, 2015).
Read more about cocoa production in Ghana -
Overview of projects on sustainable cocoa in Ghana - click here