Case Study: Kuapa Kokoo in Ghana
In 1993, a group of farmers in Ghana formed a cooperative to sell their own cocoa, it was supported by SNV, a Dutch NGO, and the UK Department for International Development. The cooperative, known as Kuapa Kokoo, ensures farmers are paid for what they produce and are not cheated by middlemen.
Kuapa Kokoo Farmers' Union - this is a national body made up of 45,000 cocoa farmers who elect representatives.
Kuapa Kokoo Farmers' Trust - this is responsible for distributing money for community projects, generated from the Fairtade Premium. Projects include providing clean water supplies and mobile health clinics, building schools and improving sanitation.
In 1998 Kuapa Kokoo came together with the NGO Twin, supported by the Body Shop, Christian Aid and Comic Relief, to find the Divine Chocolate Company. As Kuapa Kokoo is part owner of Divine it not only gets a fair price for its cocoa but also has an influence on how the organisation is run and a share in the profits it has helped to create.
In 2013, the organisation had 87,907 members, of which 32% are women. Members of Kuapa Kokoo are predominantly small-holders reliant on cocoa income and living in remote and deprived parts of the country. In particular, most of the cocoa-growing villages do not have access to healthcare, clean drinking water or electricity.
In 2008 Kuapa Kokoo sold 4250 tonnes of cocoa to the Fairtrade market. This means that the farmers received a guaranteed price. For example, even if the world price of cocoa falls to US$1000 per tonne, the Fairtrade price remains at US$1600 per tonne. If the world price goes higher farmers will receive the higher price, plus the social premium of $150 per tonne.
Health
Farmer Support
Community
Education
Construction of 6 KVIPs (Kumasi ventilated improved pit latrines) in communities such as Bipoa, Twifo Wamaso, and Abenabena Nyamebekyere.
Provision of mosquito nets to improve health.
Provision of pump wells and drilling of 348 bore holes for drinking water.
Mobile health services (clinics) to 17 districts, serving 200+ societies. Medical personnel dispatched to the societies to attend to the medical needs of the farmers and other members of the community.
Construction of a 3-classroom block and a teacher bungalow at Anakum. The school will serve Anakum and other communities nearby where children travel long distances to access school facilities.
Implementation, in collaboration with Trading Vision, a UK based NGO, of the Fairtrade Education Programme of 3 schools in Ghana and several others in the UK, linking them through internet for cultural exchange.
Construction/refurbishment of 8 schools, and a block of 6 classrooms.
Employment of Development Officers to advise farmers on good agricultural practices, set up training programmes in management and leadership skills, and organise HIV/AIDS workshops.
Provision of new equipment including scales that reduce farmers' dependency on the scales of middlemen and machines for cracking palm kernels, which greatly reduce the workload of women.
Introduction of seminars and workshops to help farmers develop alternative means of livelihood during the off-season and engage in other income generating activities. In particular, these activities aim at empowering women and include soap making using the potash produced from burnt cocoa husks, tie-dye textiles, palm nut production and palm oil extraction, corn milling, and snail farming for local and export markets.
Investment in 51 corn mills, one gari processor, as well as palm oil extraction machines and processors, nut crackers, and cutlasses for several communities.
Construction of two day-care centres.
Like all food production, fair trade will only work as a solution and help development if it is sustainable in the long term. Income, and therefore food security, depends on managing soil health and water supply through good agricultural management. In Africa, a continent riven by war, conflict and corruption, political stability is equally important. Although Fairtrade can help this by reducing poverty.