A “living income” for farmers is one of the major environmental and social concerns that Ghanaian cocoa growers listed in a complaint they submitted to state regulator, Cocobod, on Thursday.
Thirty farmers signed the complaint, which also expressed worries about the world’s second-largest chocolate producer’s ongoing use of pesticides, child labour, and deforestation.
As a condition of a $600 million syndicated loan arranged by the African Development Bank (AfDB) in 2019, it will test a grievance mechanism developed by Cocobod.
According to its mandate, Cocobod has extensive authority over the regulation of pesticide distribution, cocoa marketing, and farmer prices.
“The AfDB sought to address precisely the type of environmental and social issues identified in this petition when it mandated the creation of the…grievance mechanism,” the complaint, seen by Reuters, said.
Studies showing that just a small percentage of Ghanaian farmers make a decent wage from their cocoa were highlighted in the producers’ complaint.
“Cocobod must require companies to pay farmers a higher price…a living income,” it said, adding higher prices were also “an essential first step towards eliminating child labour”.
According to the farmers, Cocobod must also enforce firms’ deforestation pledges, guarantee that their supply chains are open to the public, prohibit the sale of hazardous chemicals, and promote agricultural sustainability.