GHANA ■ 25
C&CI
son with Forastero varieties, in combi- in-class’ quality control system, which The Hershey Company is providing
nation with the production of hardwood grades and tracks cocoa from village flavour evaluation and advice on the com- March 2010
shade species. Crucial components of level to the point of export. The addition- mercial viability of the varieties.
the project include the training of farm- al step of tracking the fine flavour cocoa
ers in the new production system, from farm to village buying centre will be
Flavour advice
strengthening the capacity of farmer included in the chain, to ensure farmers
organisations and the segregation of are paid directly for the extra effort
from Hershey
the cocoa for quality control and to involved in cultivating these valuable Additional expertise has been provided
avoid blending with bulk cocoa. varieties. by Ed Seguine, Mars Chocolate and the
The project was initiated from the ICCO Fine Flavour Committee Chair, Dr
‘Best in class’
inspiration of John Scharffenberger, the Darin Sukha of the Cocoa Research Unit
co-founder of Scharffen Berger at the University of the West Indies,
quality control
Chocolate Maker, now a brand of The Trinidad & Tobago, and Chloe Doutre-
Ghana’s competitive advantage in pro- Hershey Company. Spurred by a com- Rousel, Chloe Chocolat, France.
ducing fine flavour cocoa lies in its ‘best- mitment of The Hershey Company to John Scharffenberger said: "Ghanaian
cacao farmers are some of the best
growers in Africa. By bringing superior
cacao clones to Ghana, and teaching
Ghanaian farmers to grow them, they will
increase their income with a sustainable
crop, while we will get a reliable supply of
excellent cacao. Everybody wins."
The premium chocolate
segment is experiencing the largest
growth rate of all confectionery
Farmers benefiting from the
fine flavour project will secure segments, with rates of 9-25 per
better prices for the cocoa
they grow cent annual growth in mature
markets compared to an average
of 3 per cent annual growth in
chocolate overall
Through the World Cocoa
Foundation’s Cocoa Livelihoods pro-
gramme, funded by the Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation, two lead farmers from
the project are being trained as Master
Facilitators, and will start Farmer Field
support the project with quality evalua- Schools (FFS) in the communities of the
Ghana’s competitive
tion and a potential commercial relation- Offinso Farmers Association. The FFS will
advantage in producing fine
ship, five communities of cocoa growers provide training in good agricultural prac-
flavour cocoa lies in its ‘best-
– a total of 127 people – in the Ashanti tices, along with training modules tailored
region of Ghana are poised to adopt the to the fine flavour cocoa system of dense
in-class’ quality control
fine flavor cocoa varieties. planting and rigorous quality control.
system, which grades and If this small group has success in sell- The Quality Control Division of the
tracks cocoa from village level
ing their cocoa at premium prices, the Ghana Cocoa Board will handle the qual-
Ghana Cocoa Board will support expan- ity inspection of the beans throughout
to the point of export. The
sion to other regions. Dr Laderach, who the domestic supply chain, and the prod-
additional step of tracking the is leading the implementation team, said uct will eventually be exported by the
fine flavour cocoa from farm to
he believes that the project has a signifi- government’s Cocoa Marketing
village buying centre will be
cant potential to alleviate poverty among Company to premium markets in the US,
smallholder cocoa farmers, and that Europe and Japan. ■ C&CI
included in the chain, to ensure
once all the pieces of the project are put
farmers are paid directly for
together and the first chocolate is traded For more information, contact: Dr Peter
the extra effort
p.laderach@cgiar.org),
chain it will be easy to expand the project International Centre of Tropical
and its benefits to many more farmers. Agriculture (CIAT)
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