Based in the eastern region of Ghana, ABOCFA is the first organic and Fairtrade certified cocoa cooperative in the country.

Manager Stephen Ashia oversees the operations of the organization, including managing the certification processes, traceability, producer relationships, and governance. ABOCFA has invested deeply in the producing communities through trainings on topics including farm productivity, ecological practices, harvest and post-harvest quality, business and finance, and labor rights. ABOCFA recently constructed a new training facility and a nursery for cocoa and other tree crops to improve biodiversity on farms. All producer members of ABOCFA have also agreed to avoid deforestation or expansion into forested areas for cacao production. ABOCFA’s network contains 13 communities of producers, or hamlets. Each hamlet has three representatives that work directly with the ABOCFA cooperative leadership, including organizing and conducting annual general meetings. The cooperative democratically decides where any quality and Fair Trade premiums go every year.  In 2022, producers opted to support local schools, water access programs, health services, and financial services.

Pictured is Yakubu Minezemah, a farmer at ABOCFA in Ghana, smelling drying cacao.

TERROIR

ABOCFA's producer community is renowned globally for their high quality traceable cocoa exhibiting a classic rich and fudgy flavor. Their central office in the Aponoapono, close to Suhum, in the Eastern region of Ghana. This region is known for heavy rainfall and many consider it the birthplace of cacao production in the country.

Within the ABOCFA network, producers ferment their cocoa in heaps on the farm and dry it on raised beds close to their homes, as the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), a government agency which runs the sector nationally, does not permit the sale or purchase of wet cocoa.