Ensuring sustainable cocoa farming: Socodevi inaugurates 80,000 capacity cocoa, shade trees nursery at Adansi Adokwai
In a bid to strengthen sustainable, climate-resilient and gender-responsive cocoa farming in Ghana, Socodevi, a Canadian Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), has inaugurated a nursery at Adansi Adokwai in the Adansi North District in the Ashanti Region.
Owned by the Adansi North Cooperative Cocoa Farmers and Marketing Union Limited, the 80,000-capacity nursery comprises 60,000 hybrid cocoa seedlings and 20,000 species of various shade trees.
The nursery would be part of the cooperatives’ income-generating activities, reinforcing long-term ownership and sustainability.
The seedlings produced include cocoa, shade and fruit trees, contributing to improved farm productivity, climate resilience, biodiversity conservation, agroforestry and income diversification for cocoa-farming households.
Additionally, the nursery facility features an administrative office, metal shade-net structures, mechanised boreholes with sprinkler irrigation systems and solar energy systems, all managed solely by the cooperative union.
It also has the capacity to support cocoa rehabilitation, agroforestry, and landscape restoration, and reflects a shared commitment to environmental stewardship, cooperative ownership and inclusive economic development.
The inauguration of the nursery formed part of the implementation of a five-year project (2022-2027) titled “TogetHER - Women and Cocoa Communities Initiative”, a Global Affairs Canada-funded cocoa project in Ghana.
It has empowered 3,000 women and 1,000 young people aged 18 to 35 by strengthening inclusive cooperatives and expanding leadership, financial literacy, and economic opportunities.
It is being undertaken in partnership with the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Department of Cooperatives, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) and private sector companies including the Federated Commodities Ltd and CJ Commodities Ltd and Touton SA.
Diversification
Inaugurating the nursery at Adansi Adokwai last Wednesday, the Socodevi Country Director, Nicholas Demers-Labrousse, said the intervention aimed to diversify cocoa farmers' income sources, as relying on a single activity was not enough.
He said they thought it wise to establish tree nurseries, gari processing, and a Village Savings and Loans (VSLA) initiative to provide additional income to cocoa farmers and improve their living conditions.
He said, “Obviously, the tree nursery is one of the many initiatives being implemented to transform cocoa growing communities in the wake of many challenges confronting the cocoa sector”.
He urged members of the cooperative, chiefs and all local partners to play their respective roles towards sustaining the project.
Potential
He underscored the importance of cooperatives towards the socio-economic development of the country, saying “in Canada, where I come from, cooperatives control more than 65 per cent of the economy”.
“Here in Ghana, cooperatives are agriculture-related, but there is plenty of innovation that we can have in the transport sector, fashion, and many other services that can be rendered through cooperatives”, he stated.
Danger
He warned that the cocoa sector was in danger due to the activities of illegal mining, as many forests, including cocoa farms, had been destroyed, stressing “many youth have been lured into illegal mining sites in search of their livelihood”.
He called for the promotion of animal rearing, poultry production, gari processing, among others, as alternative economic activities to prevent the youth from engaging in illegal mining with its attendant consequences on the environment.
Support
The Deputy Executive Director, Extension, Cocoa Health and Extension Division, COCOBOD, Dr Margaret Frimpong, said the formation of cooperatives in the agricultural sector was key, as it would enable them to access financial and logistical support more easily.
She said the provision of the hybrid cocoa seedling would help in the expansion of cocoa farms in the wake of the devastating effect of illegal mining on the sector, saying “we need to cultivate more cocoa to make up for those destroyed through illegal mining”.
She applauded Socodevi and its partners for the intervention and further urged them to continue rolling out programmes and projects aimed at strengthening cocoa production in the country.
The Coordinating Director of the Adansi North District Assembly, Eric Nyarko Baiden, advised members of the cooperative to remain united and jealously guard the nursery to achieve its intended purposes.
The President of Adansi North Cooperative Cocoa Farmers and Marketing Union Limited, Pastor John Afoakwah, pledged to work with all members to sustain all business activities under the cooperative.
The chief of Adansi Adokwai, Daasebre Omono Asamoah Agyei II, in a remark, expressed gratitude for the project and pledged their support towards the sustenance of the project in the area.
Further, he appealed to the benefactors to consider offering scholarships to brilliant, needy students to pursue further studies at tertiary institutions, saying, “We require your assistance towards building the human capital in the district.”
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