Stakeholders draw up standards for cocoa industry

Accra, March 19, Ghanadot/GNA - Rainforest Alliance, a non-profit
organization dedicated to conserving biodiversity and ensuring
sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business
practices and consumer behaviour, is working with Ghanaians
stakeholders to develop local standards for sustainable cocoa
production in the country.

The guidelines, which are to be published soon, will cover labour,
social, remuneration of workers engaged on cocoa farms as well as the
use of child labour on cocoa farms.

Mr Oliver Bach, the Standards and Policy Manager of Rainforest
Alliance, made this known at 3-day basic auditors training course for
potential auditors and 10 technical officers from the Ministry of
Agriculture, Farmer Association and Cooperatives and industry
partners.

The course aims to transfer knowledge on standards for sustainable
agriculture and RainForest Alliance Certification requirements and
processes to potential auditors and to technical advisors helping
farmers and producer groups prepare for the certification.

Participants who passed the course on sustainable Agriculture
Network Standards and Rainforest Alliance Certification will move on
to the candidate phase of the course.

Mr Bach said efforts were made to involve as many stakeholders,
such government, Cocobod and farmers in the process of drawing up the
guidelines to enable the programme to achieve a high level of
credibility and acceptance.

He said balance participation was critical to getting all involved
and to enable them appreciate the tools for sustainability that had
been drawn up to move the cocoa industry forward.

The Rainforest Alliance's sustainable agriculture program oversees
the certification of farms that produce tropical crops, including
coffe, bananas, cocoa, oranges, flowers, ferns, and tea.

To obtain certification, farms must meet a set of environmental and
social standards, including agrochemical reduction, ecosystem
conservation, and worker health and safety.

Mr Bach said Rainforest certification assured consumers that
producers had followed good farm management and environmental
practices.

The Rainforest Alliance encourages businesses and consumers to
support sustainable agriculture by buying products grown on certified
farms.

By February 2006, nearly 2,000 square kilometres (nearly 475,000
acres) of land on more than 4,500 farms and cooperatives in 12
countries had obtained Rainforest Alliance certification.

GNA