Cocoa farmers in the cocoa growing communities in the Asunafo and Asutifi Districts of the Ahafo Region have lauded the implementation of the Ghana Cocoa Forest REDD+ Programme (GCFRP), reducing carbon emission in these communities.
The GCFRP is an emission reduction payment agreement under the Green Commodities Programme (GCP III), being funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in collaboration with the Forestry Commission (FC) and the Ghana Cocoa Board (COOBOD), is implementing the project in parts of the Ahafo region and has supported the cocoa farmers to engage in re-afforestation alongside their farming activities.
The farmers said the project implementation had greatly reduced carbon emissions in communities around the Asunafo-Asutifi Hotspot Intervention Area (HIA) and commended the implementers. The farmers were drawn from the HIA’s operational areas consisting of the Asunafo-Asutifi, Kakum, Ahafo Ano South, Atwima Mponua-Atwima Nwabiagya, Sefwi Wiawso, Bibiani, Juaboso-Bia, and Atewa.
They took turns and praised the project implementation at the 2025 first quarter meeting of the Management Board of the Asutifi-Asunafo Hotspot HIA held at Goaso, the Ahafo Regional capital, and facilitated by the SECO GCP. It was aimed at strengthening multi-stakeholder and cooperative collaboration to pursue environmentally friendly practices in the cocoa-forest landscape towards drastic carbon emission reduction.
Mr Daniel Amponsah Gyinayeh, the Chairman of Asunafo-Asutifi Hotspot Management Board, explained that under the project, funding was made available for farm inputs and protective equipment. The inputs and equipment greatly helped in the farmers’ efforts in reducing carbon emissions and mitigate climate change impact mitigation.
“These carbon emission payments have resulted in various community projects and farmer support systems across the six HIAs of the more than two million hectares created under the GCFRP,” he stated.
Mr Amponsah said that with the carbon credit benefit, the cocoa farmers and tree growers, cooperatives, civil society organisations, government agencies, and cocoa companies were currently partnering the implementation of climate-smart cocoa interventions.
“They are ensuring prevention of fire outbreaks, illegal sand winning, drought, and illegal logging as a means to protect the environment from degradation and improve the vegetative cover,” he added.
He said the six HIAs had so far received carbon payments of more than $16 million, saying it had also a second trench of more than $4 million for farmer inputs and community development projects. Mr Amponsah said the amount was meant for the procurement of 80,000 wellington boots, 198,000 cutlasses, and about 200,000 economic tree seedlings that would benefit 130,000 farmers.
Madam Sarah Owusu, a cocoa farmer, described the project as laudable, saying its implementation had built the capacities of the farmers on good agriculture practices. Another farmer, Tuah Yaw, said the project had supported him to engage in beekeeping and livestock farming, an alternative source of livelihood, and commended the SECO, UNDP, and the COCOBOD for the intervention.
Mr Mathias Edetor, the National Project Manager, SECO UNDP GCP, urged the HIA Management Board to strengthen engagement with the Community Resource Management Areas (CREMAs) set up by the project. He observed that the Asunafo-Asutifi HIA was one of the best-performing HIAs being supported by the GCP III in transforming food and agricultural commodity systems.
By Christopher Tetteh, GNA.
