CFI Launches National Implementation Plan

The Ghana Cocoa and Forests Initiative (CFI) has launched the National Implementation Plan (NIP) aimed at halting deforestation and degradation within the cocoa supply chain.

Speaking at the launch on Wednesday in Accra, Mr. Benito Owusu-Bio, Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, said the Plan would facilitate the planning and implementation of the commitments featured in the joint framework, which was developed by several partners and experts in the industry.

According to him, the Plan would also serve as the basis for companies in the forest management sector and cocoa value chain to develop their individual action plans.

He restated government’s commitment to enhance the environmental governance regime in the cocoa sector.

The Deputy Minister believes this would enable cocoa producers adopt cocoa agroforestry systems and practices that were climate compliant.

On his part, the Acting Managing Director of Cocoa Processing Company, Nana Agyenim Boateng, admonished chainsaw operators to desist from the illegal and indiscriminate felling of trees.

He advised that, farmers should be put at the center of the implementation phase and be provided with the needed resources.

The World Cocoa Foundation and the Sustainable Trade Initiative, in collaboration with the International Sustainability Unit of the office of the Prince of Wales, partnered with the governments of Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire and private cocoa companies to embark on the Cocoa and Forests Initiative (CFI).

The CFI aims at providing the enabling environment for the cocoa sector players to positively contribute to the preservation of forests in Ghana, and seeks to make the private sector closely partner the government of Ghana and align with national objectives and strategies for reducing deforestation in the cocoa sector.

By: Hannah Bonful & Sandra Amevor