In collaboration with Ghana COCOBOD, GIZ launched the Ghana Cocoa Traceability System (GCTS) during the Stakeholders Conference at ELMINA, Coconut Groove Hotel from 29th June to 1st July 2023.
The Ghana Cooco Traceability System (GCTS) Piloting is a Cocoa Management System (CMS) test built to enhance cocoa traceability in production, purchases, and exporting. The piloting will begin in Assin Fosu and gradually extend to all Cocoa regions in Ghana.
The GCTS program was opened with a welcome address delivered by Fifi Dawsons, Regional Manager SPD, Seed Production Division COCOB. A welcome address was given by Mrs. Mary Yaa Allotey – Regional Administrator, COCOBOD C/R. She expressed her ultimate joy about the new initiative, which will go a long way to equip the supply chain and address strategies in buying and exporting cocoa beans from Ghana to buyers on the international cocoa market.
Purpose of the conference
The purpose of the gathering detailed by Dr. Emmanuel Opoku, the DECOP of COCOBOD, stated that the objectives of the GCTS are to buy Cocoa from Ghana without affecting livestock production, deforestation, and the exploitation of children (Child Labour). He stated the concept of GCTS was supported by Tech Innovare when he first introduced the idea of tracking the source of Ghana cocoa from the farmer to the final buyer before processing it into chocolate and other cocoa by-products.
In 2021, the project was tried on just a small size of farmers and Purchasing Clerks (PCs) by registering the farmers, farmland mapping, and farmer engagement via the farmer card. This enhances the real-time data collection to support the existing Cocoa Management System (CMS).
Presentation on GIZ-SCISP
In a presentation of GIZ-SCIP by Claudia Maier, country coordinator, GIZ. Assin Fosu is now in the spotlight. We will start piloting the Ghana Cocoa Tracecibilty System in the Assin Fosu and gradually extend it nationwide to all cocoa regions in Ghana. She stated plans are underway to extend the program to the rest of the cocoa nations under the European Regulation body for cocoa.
Farmer’s Expectations on CMS
The conference did not leave farmers behind; Chief farmers from Assin Fosu were invited to the workshop as they play a key role in the whole process of cocoa production before purchase is made. Speaking on behalf of all farmers, Nana Kwesi Ofori, the Regional Chief farmer shared his utmost joy and appreciation for this maximum attention given to them.
Nana Kwesi’s speech emphasized the initiative to keep to the promise of the proposed benefits of the new initiative. Some benefits farmers will enjoy when selling cocoa through the GCTS system include; Access to cocoa loans and the farmer pension scheme.
He recalled uncountable times he received cases of robbery when farmers went to sell their cocoa to the purchasing clerk using physical cash. Nana Kwesi, the regional chief farmer, believes and will encourage implementing this system as the digital system will help solve farmers’ robbery problems when they receive payment via MOMO and other E-cash systems and enable them to enjoy the cocoa pension scheme.
Importance of CMS to the Cocoa farmer
- Eliminate weight scale adjustment.
- The CMS will provide the base data for the cocoa farmers’ pension scheme.
- Reduce theft of beans and funds.
- Access to loans
Other sessions of the Ghana Cocoa Traceability Conference held at Elmina covered a full presentation on the Cocoa Management System(CMS), an overview of the Ghana Cocoa Traceability System (GCTS), and data collected in 2022 on cocoa farmers.
Cocoa farmer population per district in Ghana
| District | Farmer Population |
|---|---|
| Ajumako | 12,894 |
| Agona Nyakrom | 17,625 |
| Jukwa | 15,177 |
| Twifo Praso | 22, 811 |
| Asikuma | 12,813 |
| Assin Fosu | 20,503 |
The gender summary of the above data indicates that there are 63, 180 males and 38, 643 females in a total of 101,823 cocoa farmers in all the cocoa districts mentioned above.
Technical Presentations on GCTS
In collaboration with Ghana COCOBOD, GIZ introduced a mobile App that will capture the farmer’s name, the weight of cocoa sold to the PC, and the total number of farmers who contributed to a full bag of cocoa via the farmer card with a scan of QR Code on tags. This will take place at the PC level. However, all the sector players will have access to the platform and can track the same information on the GCTS mobile App. But there are problems to tackle, including issues with electricity to power their smartphones and network coverage, which are common issues in most cocoa societies in Assin Fosu.
Challenges that need attention
For a very long time, the Ghana cocoa sector has run both informal and formal sections, of which the formal sections are mostly done at the depot levels, and about 30% of Purchasing Clerks (PCs) are conversant with using a smartphone. It is not a matter of PCs being unable to afford a smartphone; the big challenge is the absence of electricity to power the smartphones for easy transactions and purchasing cocoa using the GCTS. This will be one factor is to hinders the smooth rolling of the GCTS.
Another factor to challenge the GCTS is farmers with multiple farms, and it can not be traced whether they conform to the good practices of cocoa farming (Avoiding deforestation, child labor, and pesticides). Claudia Maier, the GIZ-SCIP country coordinator, clarified that the European Union (EU) has an in-house discussion about regulating cocoa from multiple farms and child labor exploitation in Ghana. Further discussion and suggestions will emerge as the EU aims to implement good systems as the piloting rolls out in Assin Fosu.
Demonstration of the workflow of GCTS
District managers and the Quality Contro Company (QCC) observed a virtual display and a short drama by the University of Ghana Drama Club on how the whole system of capturing the data from the farmer land registration, cocoa purchase by PCs, primary evacuation to the grading and sealing stage before secondary evacuation takes place to the final destination.
Objectives of GCTS
- Full traceability from the point of export through to the farmer.
- Child labor monitoring or complete elimination of child exploitation for cocoa production.
- Mitigation of deforestation.
- Compliance with European Union Regulation.
KEY TAKEAWAYS 1. The CMS will be the only cocoa trading platform. 2. COCOBOD will have visibility over the value chain. 3. COCOBOD owns the CMS. 4. Increase the productivity for all stakeholders.
NB: This is a pilot system to run digital systems to enhance traceability in Ghana Cocoa and only affect cocoa purchases in Assin Fosu. Management hopes to begin the new system for the coming 2023/24 cocoa season.
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