Legacy Project
ILRG Cocoa Bridge Phase
Funder: USAID
Project Timeline: May 9, 2019 - March 31, 2022
Country: Ghana
Program Areas: Agriculture, Resilience and Water , Agriculture, Market Systems, Access to Finance, Clean Energy and Circular Economy, Forestry and Natural Resource Management, Ecosystem Services and Climate Change
Cocoa farming is at risk in Ghana due to climate change, aging plantations, new pests and diseases, land degradation and deforestation. Winrock is continuing its work with Tetra Tech ARD and private-sector partners Ecom Agroindustrial Corp. (ECOM) and the Hershey Company to demonstrate how improving land tenure, tree tenure, and financing cocoa rehabilitation can improve yield and reduce deforestation. In combination with land-use planning, Winrock and partners are reforming insecure customary tenure structures and developing financing mechanisms to rehabilitate aging and unproductive cocoa farms. This will help Ghana on its journey to self-reliance by reducing deforestation, increasing cocoa farm productivity and resilience, diversifying farmer incomes and improving livelihoods.