The World Bank has pledged around $75 million towards a significant cocoa rehabilitation project in Ghana, which aims to restore approximately 25,000 hectares of cocoa farms that have been impacted by disease and reduced productivity.
This funding, mobilized through the West Africa Food Systems Resilience Programme, will facilitate the replacement of diseased and aging cocoa trees with enhanced, high-yielding, and disease-resistant varieties, while also encouraging improved farm management practices among farmers.
During a World Bank Civil Society Organisation event focused on food security in Accra, Ashwini Sebastian, an Agricultural Economist at the World Bank Ghana, stated that the cocoa rehabilitation initiative is part of wider efforts to bolster food systems resilience throughout West Africa.
“The West Africa Food Systems Resilience Programme, funded by the World Bank and executed by the Government of Ghana, has allowed us to utilize grant financing,” she remarked, noting that seed funding from the Norwegian government is being allocated to support essential agricultural value chains.
Dr. Sebastian characterized the cocoa component as a key intervention within the programme. “We are investing nearly 75 million dollars to rehabilitate 25,000 hectares of cocoa farms that have suffered from disease,” she explained. “Our immediate goal is to restore around 5,000 hectares by July.”
Ghana’s cocoa industry has faced mounting challenges in recent years due to swollen shoot disease, aging tree populations, and the impacts of climate variability, all of which have led to decreasing yields and lower farmer incomes.
In addition to cocoa rehabilitation, the programme is also advancing seed system development in selected areas, including trials of improved crop varieties that can endure dry-season conditions, particularly in northern Ghana. The initiative also encompasses the distribution of cashew seedlings to farmers as part of efforts to diversify income sources and enhance agricultural livelihoods.
Experts assert that extensive rehabilitation is crucial for maintaining Ghana’s status as a leading global cocoa producer and for safeguarding the foreign exchange revenues generated from cocoa exports.
