Ghanaian-owned farm and agroforestry restoration company, Afarinick Company Limited (ACL), has partnered with Japan’s Meiji Co. Ltd. to develop a sustainable and circular agroforestry cocoa model in Ghana.

The two companies signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) in Accra on Monday, September 14, 2026, as part of activities marking 100 years of Meiji Milk Chocolate and the Japanese company’s longstanding relationship with Ghana.

The agreement was signed by Afarinick Executive Chairman Joe Forson and Meiji President and Representative Director Bunjiro Yao.

It provides a framework for the joint development of an agroforestry cocoa farm, with the productive use of farm waste as a key component.

The proposed model will combine cocoa production with agroforestry and the reuse of materials generated within the farming system to improve resource efficiency and promote more sustainable cocoa production.

The signing ceremony was attended by representatives of the Government of Ghana, the Ghana Cocoa Board, the Embassy of Japan and other stakeholders.

Afarinick operates in farm management, forest restoration, sustainable agriculture, reforestation and geographic information systems (GIS), among other areas.

The company also owns what it describes as Ghana’s largest privately owned sustainable cocoa plantation — a 2,000-acre commercial farm in the Volta Region.

The plantation combines cocoa with plantain and indigenous trees and uses irrigation and other climate-smart land-management practices.

The partnership with Meiji will expand Afarinick’s work in Ghana’s cocoa value chain, particularly efforts to create additional value from waste and other resources generated on cocoa farms.

The companies are expected to use the proposed farm as a model for integrating cocoa production, agroforestry and circular resource use.

For Ghana’s cocoa sector, the partnership could provide a framework for exploring how farm waste can be utilised while improving the environmental sustainability of cocoa production.