The Gold Fields Ghana Foundation (GFGF) has expanded its annual Cocoa Farmers Support (COFAS) Programme to benefit 205 cocoa farmers in communities within the Tarkwa catchment area, reinforcing efforts to improve productivity and promote sustainable cocoa farming.
The expansion follows the enrolment of 105 additional farmers from Awudua, Huniso, Pepesa, Tebe and Samahu this year. They join 100 farmers who were enrolled under the programme in 2025.
As part of the initiative, beneficiaries receive approved cocoa production inputs and technical support over three production cycles. For the 2026 farming season, each farmer received support for a four-acre cocoa farm, including five units of insecticides, 12 bags of fertilizer and 24 units of fungicides.
Launching the programme, the Sustainability Manager of GoldFields Ghana, Mr. Robert Siaw, said the Foundation remained committed to improving livelihoods through strategic investments in agriculture and enterprise development.
He explained that the cocoa support programme forms part of the Foundation’s broader agricultural development agenda aimed at increasing farm productivity and creating sustainable income opportunities for farmers in its host communities.
According to Mr. Siaw, agriculture remains a key pillar of the Foundation’s development strategy adding the Foundation has invested more than US$7.30 million in enterprise development initiatives, including the Community Oil Palm Project (COPP), Youth in Organic Horticulture Production (YouHoP), livestock development programmes and the Cocoa Farmers Support Programme.
He further disclosed that beneficiaries would receive practical training and extension services through a partnership with the Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED) of COCOBOD to ensure the effective application of the inputs.
“We believe that when farmers have access to quality inputs, technical knowledge and extension services, they are better positioned to improve productivity and enhance their livelihoods,” he stated.
Mr. Siaw added that the Foundation has so far invested approximately US$111.88 million in community development initiatives covering education, health, agriculture, youth empowerment, enterprise development, infrastructure, water and sanitation, as well as environmental sustainability.
The Deputy Executive Director of the Cocoa Health and Extension Division of COCOBOD, Mr. Abdul-Majid Mumuni, commended the Foundation for its continued support to cocoa farmers, describing the intervention as a significant contribution to efforts aimed at revitalizing Ghana’s cocoa sector. He said the provision of production inputs would help improve yields and increase output among beneficiary farmers.
“The inputs are intended to support cocoa farmers to increase production. If farmers were harvesting between two and three bags per acre before receiving these inputs, we expect to see significant improvements after their application, potentially increasing yields to about 10 bags per acre,” he said.
Mr. Mumuni noted that the success of the programme would ultimately be measured by improvements in productivity and overall output. While applauding the Foundation’s intervention, he cautioned farmers against engaging in illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, which he said continues to pose a serious threat to cocoa farms and the future of the industry.
According to him, cocoa remains one of Ghana’s most important economic commodities and should not be sacrificed for short-term gains associated with illegal mining activities. “There is a future for the cocoa sector, and under no circumstances should farmers give out their cocoa farms for illegal mining activities,” he stressed.
Mr. Mumuni disclosed that government and COCOBOD were pursuing measures to protect cocoa-growing areas, including plans to strengthen sanctions against activities that destroy cocoa farms. Also speaking at the event, the Western South Regional Manager of COCOBOD, Mr. Samuel Essuman, identified galamsey as the biggest challenge currently confronting the cocoa industry.
He observed that illegal mining activities continue to destroy cocoa farms despite substantial investments by COCOBOD in rehabilitation programmes across the region.
“We recently undertook a project to rehabilitate diseased cocoa farms in the region and farmers have benefited immensely. However, when you visit some districts, you will be surprised by the extent to which galamsey activities are destroying farms that COCOBOD has invested so much to restore,” he said.
Mr. Essuman expressed concern that some farmers willingly release their lands to illegal miners in exchange for immediate financial gains, a practice he said undermines efforts to sustain cocoa production.
He, therefore, urged cocoa farmers to consider the long-term benefits of cocoa cultivation and safeguard their farms for future generations. The Regional Manager also commended the Gold Fields Ghana Foundation for supporting cocoa farmers in mining communities and called on other mining companies to emulate the initiative.
“We are grateful for what the Gold Fields Foundation is doing. We encourage other mining companies to align their corporate social responsibility programmes with the needs of cocoa farmers in their catchment areas. Such support will improve farmers’ livelihoods and contribute to the sustainability of the cocoa sector,” he said.
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