SANKOFA project – Empowered by the Alliances for Action

The SANKOFA project is practicalizing the concept of reintroducing the Dynamic Agroforestry (DAf) approach to Cocoa farmers in the communities of Goaso, Bibiani and Sankore in Ghana. The Dynamic Agroforestry (DAf) system involves the planting of cocoa, food crops, fruit trees, biomass trees and carbon relevant timber species on the same piece of land. The aim of the project is to improve the livelihoods of farmers and create conducive environmental conditions for mitigation of climate change.

Even though, the sustainability of cocoa production is very essential to many stakeholders including governments, producers, businesses and consumers, in Ghana, Cocoa production is listed as one of the major drivers of deforestation. This is because, not-too-distant-past, the establishment of cocoa farms in Ghana was characterised by the felling of large trees and the clearing of forests which invariably contributes to global warming and climate change. In recent times however, cocoa production in terms of yield to individual farmers has taken a drastic decline and that is challenging to the livelihood of many farmers. A measurable solution for cocoa production that improves yields to better the livelihoods of farmers and combines the sequestering of carbon to mitigate climate change is worthwhile.

This SANKOFA project is therefore employing the Dynamic Agroforestry (DAF) approach to improve the livelihoods of local cocoa farmers and contribute to climate change mitigation. The DAF is an approach of managing cocoa farms with food crops and high shade trees to reforest the area. To implement this system, the project is working together with Kuapa KoKoo Farmers Union to trained their farmers on the DAF installation and its management.