According to African Development Bank more than 315,000 hectares of Ghana’s 1.9 million hectares of cocoa farms have Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease (CSSVD) and need to be fell and rehabilitated.
Cocoa Farmers usually clear tropical forests to plant new cocoa trees instead of reusing the same land. Experts estimate 60% of the countries illegal deforestation is related to cocoa farming.
About the project
Using pyrolysis to turn cocoa trees into biochar, we are collaborating with Ghana’s Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to provide 100,000 hectares of diseased and aged cocoa trees in the Western North Region of Ghana, ensuring feedstock sustainability. As we scale up the project in other regions, this can be upped to 200,000 hectares.
Biochar will then be re-distributed through COCOBOD back to the smallholder farmers of cocoa in Ghana, subsidised as well as exported to international markets. COCOBOD imports about USD 500,000 worth of fertilisers annually.
The objective of the project is to remove approximately 54,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per year, reduce deforestation and land degradation, and promote sustainable cocoa production. The initiative also aims to contribute to climate change mitigation while creating jobs and boosting the local economy, thereby enhancing the livelihoods of the surrounding communities.
Impact beyond carbon credits
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