Five years after the implementation of the Ghana Cocoa Forest REDD+ Programme (GCFRP), the country is reaping enormous benefits.
The GCFRP, an emission reduction initiative implemented across the country’s cocoa forest landscape in 2019, formed part of measures to address the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation.
Rolled out against the backdrop of increasing depletion of the forests and the ripple effects on cocoa production, the programme had three key objectives: reducing expansionist cocoa production activities in forest areas, cutting down emissions by about 40 per cent within the 20-year lifespan of the strategy (2016-2035), and improving the livelihoods of cocoa farmers.
Under the programme, over 560,000 smallholder farmers in the country’s cocoa forest landscape were put into six hotspot intervention areas (HIA) and required to adopt sound agronomic practices for climate resilience.
The six intervention areas were selected based on the intensity of the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation, existing projects and interventions being implemented by the private sector and state actors, and adequate capacity and implementation structures at the field level.
Those selected under the GCFRP are the Sefwi Wiawso/Bibiani HIA, the Juaboso-Bia HIA, located in the Western North Region, and the Kakum HIA, located in the Central Region of Ghana.
The rest are Asutifi/Asunafo HIA, located in the Asunafo and Asutifi districts in the Ahafo Region, Atewa in the Eastern Region, which lies within the Atewa, Denkyembour and East Akim districts, and the Ahafo-Ano intervention area, located in the Ahafo-Ano South, Atwima Mponua and Atwima Nwabiagya districts in the Ashanti Region.
Per the agreement signed with the World Bank’s Carbon Fund, the HIAs are to reduce emissions by 10 million tonnes by 2024 (2019-2024) with a unit yield of $5, translating into $50 million.
The Daily Graphic’s analysis of statistics at the Climate Change Unit of the Forestry Commission, which serves as the national secretariat of the REDD+ programme, revealed that Ghana has so far received $21.8 million in carbon payments from the World Bank.
This is after the smallholder farmers across the six HIAs implemented sound agronomic practices that helped to reduce emissions by 4,351,626 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e).
The amount covered carbon payments for the 2019 to 2021 monitoring years under the GCFRP.
The statistics showed that in 2023, the country received $4.9 million for 972,465 tCO2e for the 2019 monitoring year, while $16.9 million was received in 2024 for 3,378,161 tCO2e covering the 2021 and 2022 monitoring years.
Additionally, the figures showed that there was an outstanding amount of $29 million payment covering benefits for carbon reduction from 2022 to 2024.
Delving into the records further revealed that more than $13.9 million of that amount was disbursed to 560,808 cocoa farmers across six HIAs in the country’s cocoa forest landscape.
A breakdown of the figures showed that the Asunafo Asutifi HIA received in excess of $5 million; Juaboso-Bia received $3.6 million, while the Kakum HIA got $1.6 million.
Also, the Ahafo HIA had over $1.3 million, Sefwi Wiawso-Bibiani got $1.3 million, and Atewa received about $1.1 million.
The statistics also showed that there was an outstanding amount of over $28.2 million to be paid by the World Bank for the 2022 to 2024 monitoring years.
The Daily Graphic commends the 560,808 cocoa farmers who have strictly adhered to sound agronomic practices, leading to the reduction of carbon emissions in the agricultural sector.
Apart from helping the country attract carbon payments from the World Bank, the smallholder farmers have also contributed significantly to protecting the environment from destruction.
Evidence from field visits to the Kakum and Atewa HIAs bears ample testimony to the fact that the sound agronomic practices the smallholder farmers adopted are enhancing climate resilience along the country’s cocoa forest landscape.
Even as the GCFRP comes to an end, it is important for the country to leverage the lessons learnt from the programme to promote sustainable cocoa farming and protect the environment.
