With factories releasing a significant carbon footprint and waste into Ghana’s atmosphere and environment through cocoa processing.

According to experts, it is time for processors and farmers to adopt greener strategies focused on energy efficiency and waste management as parts of improving Ghana’s nationally determined contributions.

This call was amplified at the German Embassy–JoyNews Climate Talks Dialogue, held under the theme “Green Cocoa Processing: Energy Efficiency and Waste Management” at the FairAfric Factory.

The dialogue explored practical approaches to converting cocoa waste into renewable energy to power operations, while also identifying upgrades needed to improve efficiency.

Speaking at the event, German Ambassador-Designate to Ghana, Frederik Landshoft, urged private-sector processing companies to complement public efforts by bringing in innovation, capital, and technology to sustain the environment.

“The public sector cannot deliver alone. The private sector must also be at the forefront of providing upgraded innovation that can transform Ghana into a driver of competitiveness, resilience, and prosperity in the cocoa sector,” he said.

Beyond carbon emissions, cocoa processors also risk losing quality cocoa seeds for chocolate production as a result of land-use emissions. In Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, which together produce the majority of the world’s cocoa, forest cover has declined sharply as farmland expands.

This deforestation not only threatens biodiversity but also undermines the natural process of capturing carbon dioxide and storing it in the soil, thereby worsening global emissions.

The Acting Deputy Director of Monitoring and Evaluation at COCOBOD, Eric Dickson Amengor, explained that the Ghana Cocoa Board is working with farmers to restore quality production while safeguarding the environment through climate-smart agroecological practices.

“We engage cocoa farmers through sustainable programmes that discourage them from extending farms into forest reserves. Instead, we promote practices like mass pruning, which helps farmers increase yields without cutting down more trees. This way, the environment is protected,” he emphasised.

FairAfric’s Managing Director, Micheal Marmon-Halm, also stressed the need for regulatory bodies to ensure farmers are paid fairly for their produce. He warned that low incomes often push farmers to extend farms into forest reserves, worsening deforestation and land emissions.

“The less income they generate, the more they resort to cutting down forest reserves to make way for cocoa trees and this directly drives land emissions,” he explained.

Meanwhile, Acting Director of the Ghana National Cleaner Production Center, Letitia Abra-Kom Nyaaba, highlighted the importance of strong collaboration between regulators and processors in monitoring cocoa processing practices to ensure both sustainability and quality.

“We need to work hand in hand. Where processors face challenges in executing tasks sustainably, they should be able to reach out to regulators for solutions, rather than viewing us as fault-finding organisations,” she said.

The dialogue underscored that the future of Ghana’s cocoa industry depends on how quickly stakeholders embrace sustainability and that collaborative action between regulators, processors, and farmers will be the decisive factor in ensuring that Ghana’s cocoa remains both a national economic backbone and a globally respected brand in a low-carbon future.