The West Africa Fair Fruit (WAFF), a not-for-profit organization, is scaling up interventions to support women’s groups in cocoa farming communities in the Ashanti region. Barely two years into operations, the company has roped in about 300 smallholder farmers in the Ahafo Ano North and South districts to produce for the international market, under the UTZ certification brand. General Manager of WAFF, Hans Perk observed a rise in the number of farmers opting to be part of the certification programme and he hopes to increase the number to 1,000 by end of year. The West Africa Fair Fruit collaborates with Care International to ensure cocoa farmers and farm workers receive requisite skills and support for improved crop yield and enhanced livelihoods. Mr. Perk says it is essential for farmers to get together in groups in order to benefit from both local and international assistance. “It’s very hard to go to each individual farmer, so when the farmers get organized you have an entry point for inputs and training. So it’s very important for us, we’re bringing in internal control systems, we are helping with organizing the farmers and we are training the farmers on social and environmental issues”, he spoke to Luv Fm at the inauguration of the Ahafo Ano North and South UTZ Cocoa Farmers Association (AHANSUCOFA). Mr. Perk says there is high demand for certified cocoa on the international market. “We have a lot of interest from international traders and from brands. We were here with Amajaro; they’ve already bought all the cocoa from AHANSUCOFA as certified cocoa and for the moment there is more demand for certified cocoa than supply. So we’re working hard to increase supply of cocoa”, said the WAFF GM. WAFF specializes in promoting responsible production and trade in fruit, cocoa and other commodities with the aim to contribute to strengthening of sustainable agricultural and business practices which generate sustainable sources of income and employment. Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh/Luv Fm/Ghana