Netherlands investing €7M to support Ghana’s Cocoa industry

The Netherlands wants to support Cocoa industry in Ghana. Cocoa / Flickr To help improve the competitiveness of Ghana’s Cocoa industry, the Netherlands and its partners have outlined a EUR21-M project, the Dutch Embassy in Ghana announced Tuesday. The program, the Cocoa Rehabilitation and Intensification Program (CORIP), is designed to to develop economic, social and environmentally sustainable support for Cocoa farmers in the main Cocoa producing regions of Ghana, Live Trading News reports. Dutch Ambassador Hans Docter said the program includes a €7 million grant initiative from the Dutch government and an additional €14 million expected from private sector Cocoa industry funding facility. For the next 4 years, the farmers’ support program will establish and operate Cocoa Rural Service Centers (RCS) that will promote and upscale Cocoa production in a sustainable self-financing way in partnership with cocoa buyers. Netherlands based international food and energy company Solidaridad West Africa will co-ordinate the project. Cocoa is Ghana’s largest export crop, while the Netherlands is the largest importer of Cocoa from West Africa.