Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Union (KKFU) has launched the first farmer-led child labour campaign programme in Ghana. The farmers’ cooperative has developed systems and structures which will lead to the elimination of worst forms of child labour in cocoa production. The Union hopes to partner like-minded public and private institutions to mobilize over $478,000.00 for remediation activities in cocoa growing districts in the next three years. Executive Director of KKFU, Emmanuel Arthur, says implementation of the programme is in line with the National Plan of Action in the Elimination of Child Labour as well as Fair Trade Standards to uphold child-labour free cocoa production. The organization has been piloting remediation activities in 28 cocoa growing districts in the Western region and plans to replicate the scheme in 52 districts. Speaking in an interview with Luv Fm, Mr. Arthur observed that Ghana risks the boycott of cocoa from chocolate-consuming countries if the issue of child labour is not adequately addressed. According to him, “chocolate consumers are very much alive to issues of human rights, issues of child rights and are asking questions of the chocolate companies where they’re getting their cocoa from and if the source of the cocoa is child-labour free. So the risk is that the whole of Ghana’s cocoa could be rejected on the world market because of child labour”. Mr. Arthur noted that in the bid to maintain the high premium in processing cocoa beans, the Kuapa Kokoo Child Labour Programme takes into account the sensitivity of the cultural context of Ghanaian cocoa farming practices. “Our focus is not to prevent children from working on their parents’ farms but rather looking at the development of the child; allow the child to go to school but the child can go to farms on weekends, for example, but they are not engaged in hazardous activities”, he said. Managing Director of Kuapa Kokoo Limited, Kwasi Aduse-Poku, says “sustainable cocoa production can be looked at from two perspectives; first is to increase yield and second is to satisfy our ultimate consumers, without whom production becomes fruitless”. Kuapa Kokoo engages some 64 thousand cocoa farmers in five regions of Ghana. Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh