Summary
The cocoa sector is facing a great number of challenges related to smallholder production, such as low cocoa tree
productivity, low income for farmers and workers, issues regarding labour conditions and environmental impact, such as deforestation. UTZ Certified and Solidaridad have initiated a cocoa programme in Ghana and Ivory Coast that aims to improve sustainability in the cocoa supply chain. This programme supports cocoa farmers to implement better farming and management practices according to the UTZ Certified Code of Conduct. Stakeholders in the cocoa supply chain are actively engaged in the implementation of the programme. UTZ and Solidaridad expect that, by increasing the sustainability of cocoa cultivation and trade, cocoa production will become a more economically viable option for current and future cocoa farmers, thus enhancing their standard of living. This study presents the impact evaluation of the UTZ-Solidaridad programme implemented in Ghana, analysing the change in performance over a time period of four years (2011-2014) of farmers connected to six cocoa support projects included in the programme. The research was commissioned by Solidaridad and UTZ Certified. We hope that the findings of this study will help to strengthen the programmes currently being implemented and inform current and future debates on sustainable cocoa production and certification. We are greatly indebted to the farmers for their assistance and the information they have provided us with, as well as the implementing organisations and the hard work done by the survey personnel to collect the field data. We would not have been able to conduct this study without their efforts. We also wish to thank the Solidaridad and UTZ Certified team, who provided us with information on their training and certification approach in Ghana and feedback to the questionnaire and report.