UNICEF has called for stronger collaboration among stakeholders in Ghana’s cocoa sector to improve child protection and promote the well-being of children in cocoa-growing communities.
The call was made at the 2026/2027 Cocoa Season Kick-Off and Partnership Engagement organised by Tony’s Open Chain in Accra.
The event, held under the theme ‘Reflect, Recharge and Reignite: Honouring the Journey, Fueling the Future’, brought together about 100 farmers, cooperative representatives and supply chain partners to review achievements and challenges of the 2025/2026 cocoa season and discuss priorities for the new season.
Participants included representatives from COCOBOD, the Department of Co-operatives Ghana, EdelSource, Fairtrade Africa, Adom LBC, 100Weeks, the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI), IDH and UNICEF.
The engagement also provided a platform for stakeholders to share lessons from the previous season, strengthen partnerships and identify opportunities to address challenges facing cocoa farmers and their communities.
UNICEF Ghana’s Chief Child Protection Officer, Lucia Soleti, highlighted the importance of protecting children in the cocoa sector and outlined some of UNICEF’s interventions aimed at advancing child protection globally.
Fairtrade Africa’s Programme Team Lead for Cocoa, Baaman Chatin, said the kick-off meeting provides an important opportunity for partners to assess their respective roles, address challenges encountered during the previous season and renew their commitment to a more sustainable cocoa sector.
For his part, President of the Asunafo North Co-operative Cocoa Farmers Union Emmanuel Nana Sarpong expressed appreciation to Tony’s Open Chain for its support.
He, however, called on COCOBOD to review its fertiliser and pesticide distribution systems to ensure farmers receive the necessary inputs more efficiently.
Outlining what farmers should expect in the 2026/2027 cocoa season, the Country Manager of Tony’s Open Chain Ghana, Habiba Agyemang, said the engagement is expected to strengthen cooperation among cocoa sector stakeholders and promote shared efforts towards building a more sustainable and equitable cocoa supply chain in Ghana.