The World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) and chocolate maker TCHO are collaborating to introduce innovations and quality improvements to cocoa grown in Ghana. This will take the form of a "Flavor Lab" located at the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) and on-farm extension work. The project's goal is to demonstrate to farmers the direct link between quality at the farm level and increased value for their products.
The Flavor Lab will include a sensory panel that will be trained in objective flavor evaluation, an invaluable tool for commercialization and research based on flavor characteristics. Farmers will learn by tasting chocolate from their own beans, usually for the first time, how product quality depends on good fermentation and drying methods.
Bill Guyton , WCF president said, "We are proud to partner with TCHO to bring this innovative program to Ghana. We'll build upon Ghana's strong cocoa culture, by improving flavor and value, and will be able to reinvest increased quality back into cocoa communities."
"TCHO is honored to partner with the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana and the World Cocoa Foundation to help make a difference for cocoa farmers in West Africa," said John Kehoe , Vice President, Sourcing and Development for TCHO.
"The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), as the U.S. Government agency leading President Obama's Feed the Future initiative, is proud to be a part of this kind of public-private partnership, which uses cutting-edge technology and the power of markets to improve the lives of smallholder farmers in Ghana," said Paul Weisenfeld , Assistant to the Administrator in USAID's Bureau for Food Security.
The project will work with approximately 7,000 farmers throughout Ghana's cocoa producing region and contributes to the goals WCF's African Cocoa Initiative, a $14 million, 5-year partnership between WCF, cocoa industry members, the Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH), and the U.S. Government's Feed the Future initiative. Ultimately, the ACI aims to double cocoa productivity and train over 100,000 farmers though fostering public-private cooperative investments in cocoa and agriculture, improving the genetic quality and productivity of cocoa varieties under cultivation, expanding farmer education, and improving the agriculture input supply chains that serve the farmers.
