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As Ghana intensifies efforts to promote sustainable cocoa production and forest conservation, leaders from key Hotspot Intervention Areas (HIAs) created under the Ghana Cocoa Forest REDD+ Programme (GCFRP) are coming together to exchange knowledge, share practical experiences, and strengthen landscape governance.
Hotspot Intervention Areas (HIAs) are priority landscapes identified under the GCFRP where targeted interventions aim to reduce deforestation, enhance sustainable cocoa production, and improve community livelihoods. These areas serve as demonstration sites for implementing integrated approaches to landscape management that balance agricultural productivity with forest protection.
In a recent peer learning engagement, HIA executives from Atewa and Sefwi-Wiawso visited counterparts in Asunafo-Asutifi and Juaboso-Bia HIAs. The visit focused on integrated approaches to sustainable cocoa-forest landscapes, ranging from HIA governance structures, cooperative models, to community enterprises and forest conservation strategies. Participants visited Ayum Forest Reserve, where they observed the practice of the Modified Taugya System (MTS), an integrated agroforestry model that combines farming practices with native tree planting and interacted with the MTS farmers and the Forest Service Division of Forestry Commission. Their visit to the Ultra-modern multipurpose CREMA Service Center at Dadiasoaba showed what successful collaborations can produce in the cocoa-forest landscape. The participants engaged the Asunafo Farmers’ Cooperative and Marketing Union, as well as Adom Cocoa, a local Licensed Buying Company established by the Asunafo Farmers' Union.
In Juaboso-Bia, the participants toured the Bia Soap Processing Factory, a successful community-based enterprise that provides economic alternatives to augment the income-earning activities of the Bia West Cooperative Union.
“This peer exchange is helping us see what is possible when communities are organized and supported. The soap factory, for instance, is more than a business; it’s a model of how livelihood empowerment and environmental stewardship can go hand in hand,” said Ms. Henrittah Kyerewaa, Atewa East Akim Secretary, HIA.
The project team from UNDP and the Forestry Commission, together with the HIA representatives also engaged the Bia Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED) on their strategies for the successful promotion of adoption of improved/climate-smart cocoa practices.
‘To us, we do not condemn straight ahead the indigenous practices the farmers are used to, we work with them together to also take on board new technologies, and that has proven to work. We also innovate a lot.’ said, Forbah Fabian Ebuley, the Bia West CHED Director.
Participants also engaged in discussions on biodiversity conservation, forest protection, collaborative forest management, and the importance of strong partnerships between communities and park authorities at Bia National Park. The Park’s collaboration with Community Resource Management Area (CREMA) Committees and Hotspot Intervention Areas (HIAs) emerged as a model of best practice, offering a valuable example for other HIAs to learn from and replicate.
“We are committed to building a greener cocoa future, and these learning visits give us the tools and networks we need to make that happen,” said Mr. Sylvester Mensah, Chairman of Sefwi-Wiawso HIA.
Building on the foundation of the Ghana Cocoa Forest REDD+ Programme, a national initiative focused on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation while improving cocoa farmer livelihoods, the Green Commodities Programme (GCP III) is empowering local leaders through initiatives like peer learning exchanges, equipping them with the knowledge and skills needed to drive sustainable change from the ground up.
As peer learning continues across Ghana’s cocoa forest zones, the message is clear: collaboration, innovation, and shared ownership are vital to securing a resilient, climate-smart cocoa sector for generations to come. This HIA exchanges form part of an ongoing knowledge-sharing initiative supported by the Green Commodities Programme, with funding from the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).
