COCOALINK - Connecting Cocoa Communities

Program Dates: 2011-2013 (pilot phase)

Country: Ghana

Core Program Partners:

World Cocoa Foundation

Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD)

The Hershey Company

Implementers:

Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) for agricultural and social content

Dream Oval, a communications technology firm based in Accra, for technological support

World Education, to oversee training in CocoaLink communities

Overview

CocoaLink leverages Ghana's well-developed mobile phone infrastructure and successful WCF education and literacy programs in the country, using voice and SMS text messages to connect cocoa farmers with practical agricultural and social information that will help them increase their incomes and improve their livelihoods.

This innovative program uses existing mobile technology to reach more than 8,000 Ghanaian cocoa farmers and community members in 15 pilot communities with the potential to reach more than 100,000 over the first three years. Each participating community will have local COCOBOD agriculture extension agents and on-the-ground trainers to help ensure program success.

CocoaLink builds on the momentum of existing WCF programs including the ECHOES Alliance, the Sustainable Tree Crops Program and the Cocoa Livelihoods Program. The program leverages the Ghana Cocoa Board's extensive knowledge, cocoa husbandry information and field farmer-extension personnel.

Farmers and community leaders will receive, at no charge, voice and SMS text messages delivered in their native language or in English. The messages include information on improving farming practices, farm safety, child labor, health, crop disease prevention, post-harvest production and crop marketing. Farmers can also share their learnings and receive answers to specific cocoa-farming questions.

Program Objectives:

To contribute to the improved livelihoods of rural Ghanaian cocoa farmers through: