Cargill, in close collaboration with its partners, drives sector transformation in Ghana

Cargill has celebrated the establishment of its own licensed buying company (LBC) – Cargill Kokoo Sourcing Ltd – in Ghana, in the presence of a Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, Hon. Carlos Kingsley Ahenkorah, a Deputy Minister designate for Food and Agriculture, Hon William Quaitoo, the Ambassador of the United States to Ghana, H.E Robert P. Jackson, the Ambassador of the Netherlands to Ghana, H.E Ron Strikker, representative of the Chief Executive Officer, COCOBOD and representatives from Cargill.

This new LBC has been fully operational since November 2016, and allows Cargill to directly source cocoa from certified farmers in Ghana for the first time – putting the farmer at the heart of our business. So far over 25,000 farmers are registered, of which 9,000 are actively pursuing selling beans through Cargill’s LBC network. Cargill already sources directly from farmers and farmer organisations in other origin countries. Moving to this model in Ghana means that the company will be better positioned to efficiently implement the Cargill Cocoa Promise at scale and better serve its customers.

Cargill’s innovative high–tech purchasing model is built on the principles of sustainability and full traceability in Ghana. Farmers deliver their cocoa to community warehouses where their beans are digitally weighed in front of them, assigned a fully traceable bar code and funds are then transferred straight to the farmer’s phone or e-wallet using E-money through partnerships with E-Zwich, MTM mobile Money and Tigo Mobil Money. The revolutionary move to mobile money in Ghana adds assurance for the farmer, improves their ability to trade more effectively and eradicates all risks associated with cash payments.

Details of the beans are then recorded in a standardised management system before the beans are collected by larger trucks, which transfer them to central warehouses. Through Cargill’s new bar code system, the company can now trace each individual bag of Ghanaian cocoa beans, sourced through the Cargill LBC, to the individual farm, creating a fully traceable supply chain down to farmer level for the first time in Ghana.