Friday, September 17, 2010
Cadbury Supports Cocoa Farmers With £2m
Cadbury Ghana has paid about £2 million as premium to support the livelihood of farmers in the country.
The amount, which was generated from what the company has christened “Fair Trade Certification”, has been used for projects such as farm improvements, the provision of mobile clinics to take care of the health challenges of the people, as well as the provision of wells to provide potable drinking water for them.
The Managing Director of Cadbury Ghana, Mr James Boateng, revealed this when he addressed a session during the Alliance for Green Revolution (AGRA) forum in Accra.
He said through the collaborative efforts of stakeholders such as the World Vision International, CARE International among others, farmers in cocoa communities were being empowered to engage in the drawing-up action plans to address their most pressing needs so that they could be provided with funds to tackle them.
Mr Boateng said two years into the launch of the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership, the programme continues to chalk up many successes, particularly in the 100 cocoa communities which were being targeted now.
The Cadbury Ghana Boss, who also addressed other sessions at the forum, said the £30 million Cadbury Cocoa Partnership was planned to support the building of thriving cocoa communities in the country by 2018.
“Support will also be given to ensure that alternative income streams are provided to encourage farmers to undertake activities in non-cocoa areas such as food-cropping and animal rearing”, Mr Boateng said.
He said community-centred infrastructure including schools and potable water would also be provided during the period, adding that “so far 900 wells have been dug”.
Mr Boateng said in collaboration with COCOBOD, the programme was also financing training and deployment of 17 areas to restore interest in cocoa farming.
Source: Daily Graphic