Hershey has announced the release of The CocoaLink Impact Evaluation in Ghana, a three-year study which concluded that the Hershey-sponsored mobile phone training program “significantly improved the behaviour and livelihoods” of cocoa farmers who receive weekly messages on best farming and labour practices.
The company says that the evaluation showed the positive impact the program has had in modernising cocoa farming in Ghana, the second largest producer of cocoa in the world. CocoaLink is described as a breakthrough program created by Hershey, the Ghana Cocoa Board and the World Cocoa Foundation that recognises the value public-private partnerships have in addressing the complex challenges of modernising the West African cocoa sector.
CocoaLink was managed in Ghana by World Education with technology support from Dream Oval, a Ghana software firm. Farmers in CocoaLink used weekly messages to supplement training from agricultural extension agents.
The evaluation was conducted by an agricultural researcher from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana and compared CocoaLink users versus non-users in 15 Ghanaian cocoa villages.
The impact study is said to have shown statistically significant improvements for CocoaLink users in agricultural and social knowledge and practices, including:
* CocoaLink farmers improved cocoa yield and associated income in 2013 with cocoa output 10% greater than control communities studied. Overall, CocoaLink farmers increased their yields by 45.6% over a three year period.
* 88% of CocoaLink farmers received conservation training compared to sixty-eight% of non-CocoaLink farmers.
* 65% of CocoaLink farmers received basic literacy training—thirty-five% higher than non-CocoaLink farmers.
* 65% of CocoaLink farmers received bookkeeping training—twenty-five% higher than non-CocoaLink farmers.
Other CocoaLink improvements include:
* Increase in general knowledge of cocoa production.
* Highest improvements in planting information, spraying and fertilizer application.
* Greater understanding of appropriate and safe practices for children in cocoa communities.
* Improved agricultural practices in pruning, weeding and use of protective gear for spraying.
* Surveyed farmers also indicated they viewed the information provided by CocoaLink as trustworthy and practical.
“We are very pleased that this rigorous analysis of CocoaLink outcomes so clearly shows that high-impact, affordable technology improves farming, raises incomes and provides benefits to families and communities,” said Leslie Turner, senior vice president general counsel and secretary, The Hershey Company. “CocoaLink is a model of effective collaboration with the Ghana Cocoa Board and other private partners. It clearly shows how we can work together to build a better cocoa sector.”
Started in 2011, CocoaLink is a free, two-way information exchange where cocoa experts create text messages based on the cocoa-growing calendar. Farmers use their own mobile phones to register for weekly messages, reflecting the sweeping technological changes in rural Ghana. Since more than 90% of Ghanaian cocoa farmers regularly use mobile phones, CocoaLink provides timely messages on planting, pruning, fertilizer use, labor, and improving farmer and family safety.
The Impact Evaluation is one of the few studies to demonstrate the benefits of using mobile phones to improve agriculture in rural West Africa over a three year period. It was designed to understand how farmers using CocoaLink received and acted on information while also assessing cocoa yields at the start and conclusion of the project. Additionally, researchers surveyed farmers on social issues, malaria prevention, female education and income improvements.
“I made many improvements on my farm and I am today growing more cocoa on my farm than before I started with CocoaLink,” said a farmer in Assin Fosu in Ghana’s central region.
“Hershey is committed to working with the Cocoa Board and the cocoa industry to broaden the impact of CocoaLink,” continued Turner. “Our success shows that we can build a digital information network that engages current and emerging young cocoa farmers in building modern cocoa farms that will strengthen the cocoa sector and supply chain.”
For future improvements, the surveyed farmers expressed a preference for voice versus text messages, the ability to participate in conference calls with extension agents and a continued package of community support programs, including literacy training.
Hershey said that it is committed to improving cocoa farming through its 21st Century Cocoa Strategy, which is helping to support Hershey’s goal of using 100% certified cocoa in all its global products by 2020. Hershey is already sourcing more than 18% of all cocoa it purchases globally from certified sources.
Hershey’s third CSR report, coming this spring, will highlight key elements of the 21st Century Cocoa Strategy, and provide perspectives from a program leader working on the ground in Ghana. The report will showcase her travels to CocoaLink communities and her conversations with cocoa farmers who have benefited from Hershey’s programs that support the modernization of cocoa farming in West Africa.
