Impact of UTZ certification on cocoa producers in Ghana, 2011 to 2014 (original) (raw)
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Since 2008, Cargill BV and Solidaridad have collaborated in a programme in Côte d’Ivoire that aims to improve sustainability in the cocoa supply chain. To achieve that goal, support activities have been provided to cooperatives and their farmer members. This joint effort started as a small-scale initiative focusing on two cooperatives. By the end of 2012 it had grown into a large-scale programme reaching out to 93 farmer groups across the country, encompassing 60,000 farmers. Over 41,000 farmers had directly participated in different phases of training and 36,540 farmers were UTZ Certified by the end of 2012. Certification is viewed as an important tool to create, communicate and transfer value through the supply chain. The aim of training and supporting farmers to progressively implement sustainable production and management practices through a sustainability standard or standards is to increase farmer productivity and efficiency. By creating more effective farmer organisations, th...
The Impacts of Cocoa Sustainability Initiatives in West Africa
To tackle the multiple challenges facing the cocoa sector, voluntary sustainability standards and corporate initiatives, largely focusing on farm and farmer group scale, are often implemented by public-private-civil society partnerships of stakeholders further in the value chain. This paper looks at the social, economic, and environmental effects of such initiatives, based on empirical evidence from large-scale, mixed-method studies using a suite of socioeconomic, agronomic, and environmental indicators to compare the situation of UTZ certified with non-certified farmers in 2012 and 2015 in Ghana, and 2013 and 2017 in Ivory Coast. The results show that, on average, outcomes are mixed and generally modest. However, significant cocoa productivity and income increases were experienced by certified farmers receiving a full package of services. However, the type and intensity of services has changed over time, decreasing for half of the farmers, and productivity and income increases are levelling off. These findings suggest that whilst partnerships have created new governance arrangements with an increased focus on sustainable value chains, initiatives which result in a living income and optimise productivity, whilst limiting environmental impacts, require sectoral transformation, continued partnerships, plus a range of other policy instruments to address the persistent, wicked problems in cocoa production.
Journal of environment and earth science, 2017
The impact of voluntary standards and certification schemes on the sustainability of cocoa production of Ghana was studied in the Upper Denkyira West District (UDW) of Ghana. Three schemes including UTZ Certified, Rainforest Alliance (RA) Certified and Conventional systems of production was used for the study. Soil chemical analyses (pH, Carbon, Organic matter, Available P and Exchangeable K) were carried out in 15 farms under each of the production system. The percent shade trees cover and economic indicators (B/C Ratio, NPV and IRR) per acre size cocoa farm were determined. Keywords: Cocoa, certification systems, UTZ certified, Rainforest Alliance certified, conventional farms
The Cocoa High Technology Programme (CHTP) was introduced by the Government of Ghana in 2003 with the aim of improving the fertility of the soil thereby increasing the yields and incomes of cocoa farmers. A correlational survey design was used in the Eastern Region of Ghana to examine the perceived impact of the CHTP on the livelihoods of cocoa farmers who adopted the technology using the Sustainable Livelihood Framework (SL) Approach. The level of impact of the programme on farmers' livelihoods as a 'whole' though higher, was below the expectations of cocoa farmers. The study further revealed that farmers' yields were significantly improved by the CHTP with mean increase of 72% (from 2.85 bags/acre to 4.9 bags/acre), three years after the implementation of the CHTP. The results of stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that (1) fertilizer application; (2) harvesting, fermentation and drying technologies; and (3) fungicide application were the best predictors of impact on livelihoods of cocoa farmers.
The cocoa coast: The board-managed cocoa sector in Ghana
2017
established in 1975, provides research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition. The Institute conducts research, communicates results, optimizes partnerships, and builds capacity to ensure sustainable food production, promote healthy food systems, improve markets and trade, transform agriculture, build resilience, and strengthen institutions and governance. Gender is considered in all of the Institute's work. IFPRI collaborates with partners around the world, including development implementers, public institutions, the private sector, and farmers' organizations. About IFPRI's Peer Review Process IFPRI books are policy-relevant publications based on original and innovative research conducted at IFPRI. All manuscripts submitted for publication as IFPRI books undergo an extensive review procedure that is managed by IFPRI's Publications Review Committee (PRC). Upon submission to the PRC, the manuscript is reviewed by a PRC member. Once the manuscript is considered ready for external review, the PRC submits it to at least two external reviewers who are chosen for their familiarity with the subject matter and the country setting. Upon receipt of these blind external peer reviews, the PRC provides the author with an editorial decision and, when necessary, instructions for revision based on the external reviews. The PRC reassesses the revised manuscript and makes a recommendation regarding publication to the director general of IFPRI. With the director general's approval, the manuscript enters the editorial and production phase to become an IFPRI book.
2013
This thesis is credited to my name but, in reality, it is the product of the collective effort of many people from diverse backgrounds. I am indebted to all of them for bringing me a step closer to my childhood dream of becoming a Ghanaian academic. In 2008, I almost convinced myself that I had no future in academia. I am grateful that Dr. Owuraku Sakyi-Dawson, my mentor, convinced me not to give up and to compete for places in the PhD programme 'Convergence of Sciences-Strengthening Innovation systems' (COS-SIS). A special word of thanks must go to my four supervisors. In alphabetical order, Arnold van Huis, Daniel Obeng Ofori, Felix Asante and Rein Haagsma. Supervising a student like me can be hard work, but they did not give up on me. Rein, in particular, did a fantastic job at clarifying my thoughts and getting me to deliver. Felix seamlessly blended critical analyses of my work and words of encouragement. Daniel visited my field site, looked critically at my data and gave sound and key scientific input. Arnold would read my work faster than any one and provided critical input, which went a long way to improve the chapters. A PhD of this nature requires a lot of field assistance from several people who deserve much appreciation. Richard Adu-Acheampong, entomologist at the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana was the Research Associate (postdoc) of the cocoa domain of the CoS-SIS programme in Ghana. He opened several windows of opportunity for me, in order to obtain data, for which I am grateful. Felix Awu of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Suhum, was instrumental in setting up and managing all my field experiments. Of course, I was assisted by many other people who either joined my experiments or were survey respondents. These included farmers; officers of Cocoa Board; and Licensed Buying Companies, staff of Cocoa Research Institute across the country. I appreciate every little help they offered me. This PhD path was costly and could not have been possible without the financial support from the COS-SIS Program. Special mention must be made of the fruitful interaction I had with the large COS-SIS community throughout these last four years. Especially from Prof. Niels Röling, Prof. Janice Jiggins, and Dr. Dominique Hounkounou. To my colleagues of the COS-SIS program-Charity
Asian Journal of Research in Agriculture and Forestry
The significance of sustainable cocoa production has been widely studied using various methods and models, however, the farmers’ viewpoints on cocoa certification programme remained largely unexplored. This study attempts to examine the perceptions of farmers on certification programme towards sustainable cocoa production in the South-West, of Nigeria. Multistage sampling procedures were used to collect primary data through the aid of a well-structured questionnaire from three hundred and sixty (360) cocoa farmers (certified and non-certified) in Ondo, Osun and Ogun States. Descriptive statistics such as frequency, mean and percentage as well as Independent T-test were used to analyse the data. The study revealed that the majority (68.9%) of the respondents were male, and also married which implies that they have access to family labour. The main reason why non-certified cocoa farmers did not participate in the programme is due to inadequate awareness, while the major bodies creatin...
Côte d’Ivoire has been the world’s largest cocoa exporter since the 1980s. The cocoa sector faces a number of challenges such as low productivity and smallholder farmer incomes, poor working conditions, complex labour issues and environmental challenges such as deforestation and climate change. The Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH) aims to accelerate and up-scale sustainable trade by building impact-oriented coalitions of multinationals, civil society organisations, governments and other stakeholders through co-funding and convening public and private interests, strengths and knowledge. The IDH Cocoa Productivity and Quality Programme (CPQP) is a four-year programme that aims to mainstream the results of the previous Cocoa Improvement Programme (CIP1). It seeks to assist smallholder cocoa farmers to move out of poverty and make a transition to running viable businesses for sustainable cocoa production. The programme promotes four tools to do this: good agricultural practices (GAPs)...