In January 2008, the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership was established in partnership with the United National Development Programme, local governments, farmers and communities.
This ground-breaking partnership aims to secure the economic, social and environmental sustainability of around a million cocoa farmers and their communities in Ghana, India, Indonesia and the Caribbean. Over ten years £45 million GBP will be invested through the partnership to improve farmer incomes, develop communities and build partnerships.
In January 2009 Cadbury announced that the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership was now active across 100 Ghanaian communities, marking the 100th anniversary of cocoa trading with Ghana.
Fairtrade
Building upon our existing Cadbury Cocoa Partnership commitments to Ghana, Cadbury and the Fairtrade Foundation announced plans to achieve Fairtrade certification for Cadbury Dairy Milk by late Summer 2009, in the UK and Ireland.
This groundbreaking move will result in the tripling of sales of cocoa under Fairtrade terms for cocoa farmers in Ghana, increasing Fairtrade cocoa sales for existing certified farming groups, and opening up new opportunities for thousands more farmers to benefit from the Fairtrade system.
To find out more about Cadbury’s partnership with the Fairtrade Foundation, please visit http://cadburydairymilk.typepad.com/
The Cadbury Cocoa Partnership - one year on
The Cadbury Cocoa Partnership’s first year has seen a Ghana Board set up to oversee the programme including representatives from Ghanaian government ministries, farmer organisations and development specialists.
Cadbury Chief Executive Todd Stitzer visited Ghana to mark the anniversary of the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership and the centenary of our first cocoa shipment from Ghana in January 2009, to see for himself the work now underway across the 100 communities.
The 100 communities who have now joined the partnership have been identifying their main development needs, including the construction of new school buildings or forming Cocoa Youth Clubs to encourage the next generation to remain with agriculture, particularly cocoa farming.
What’s next?
In 2009 the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership is extending its activities to focus on improving farm income levels by developing farmer education programmes that explore best cocoa management practices leading to high quality and increased yields. As well as seeking to make an immediate impact on farmers’ lives, the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership is exploring carbon reduction techniques to secure more sustainable cocoa farming.
By 2018, Cadbury estimates it will have made a demonstrable difference to the lives of around half a million Ghanaian farmers.
To find out more about the work we are doing in Ghana, please click through to the case studies below:
Earthshare partnership
Ghana Wells programme
Teacher training support with Digital Links International
Free newspaper for cocoa farmers
Enterprise Loans to aid skills development in Cocoa communities
Library programme
To learn about cocoa research conducted in Ghana since 1938 please visit the Cocoa Research website.
And don’t forget to visit our online 2008 Corporate Responsibility review, which brings the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership to life! Go to www.dearcadbury.com to find out more.
Please take a look at our Skills Space education site. Here you will learn more about Ghana, the life of a cocoa farmer and the future: why Cadbury is working in partnership with other organisations and the farmers themselves to help build a better future.