Leading cocoa processing and buying company, Cargill, has congratulated the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) on its 70th anniversary and reaffirmed its commitment to working to improve the lives of cocoa farmers and the communities where they operate. This according to the company is the best way to support the Ghana Cocoa Board with its mandate.

In a congratulatory statement, Managing Director for Cargill Ghana Limited, Mr. Pieter Reichert said Cargill owes its success in Ghana partly to the support and cooperation enjoyed from the Ghana Cocoa Board. He said Cargill is even more committed to working together with COCOBOD for the benefit of the cocoa industry as it enters a new era.

“For us at Cargill, COCOBOD is a valued partner. In part, we owe our success as a leading cocoa company in Ghana to the hard work and cooperation from COCOBOD. We are proud to be an associate and we congratulate them on this significant milestone. Our aim is to work together with the regulator to achieve a better industry and we are even more committed to this as we celebrate with them on this historic feat. That is why we are replicating the Cargill Cocoa Promise - our three prong strategy aimed at supporting farmer groups and delivering benefit to cocoa farming communities- in Ghana” said Mr. Reichert.

On the sidelines of their celebrations, an exhibition named “70 years on: Mobilizing for Sustainable Cocoa Economy” was held in Kumasi over the weekend. Mr. Alexander Korsah, Sourcing Lead, Cargill Kokoo Sourcing (CKS) – Cargill Ghana’s Licensed Buying Company (LBC) also commented on the success of the partnership between COCOBOD and Cargill.

“It is significant to mention that COCOBOD granted us a license to operate as a LBC last year and so far, we are fulfilling all the requirements and the promises we made. Our innovative model for sourcing cocoa directly from farmers comes with a fully automated e-payment system and better incentives for farmers and we are proud to note that COCOBOD is working towards operationalizing some of these initiatives too. Just about a month ago, we made our first ever premium payment of GHc2 million to over 10,000 partner farmers in the Western Region. We are also looking at empowering farmer cooperatives. All these are geared towards achieving the government’s target of 1 million metric tonnes of yield annually and the broader picture of enhancing the livelihoods of those who matter most in this industry- the farmers” Mr. Korsah said.

Cargill, a global leader in the sourcing and processing of cocoa has been sourcing cocoa in Ghana for the past forty years. In 2008, Cargill set up a US $100m state-of-the-art processing plant in Tema which processes cocoa products for the local and global market.

As a major player in the sector, it is expected that Cargill will continually bring its over 150 years global insight to the benefit of Ghanaian cocoa farmers especially with its new Licensed Buying Company; the Cargill Kokoo Sourcing Limited.