New schools and health centers benefit 14 cocoa farming communities

The new facilities will provide over 1,650 children with access to education and healthcare for 25,000 people across the local communities. Bringing together investment from farmer cooperatives and the private/public partners, the U.S. USD 1.9 m program has enabled 14 cooperatives to make their own decisions about investments in facilities that can benefit their communities.

Using the premium payments for certified cocoa paid to cooperatives under the Cargill Cocoa Promise, each cooperative also has benefitted from additional funding from the Conseil du Café-Cacao and Cargill, as well as the expertise of CARE to build the new schools and health centers. CARE has additionally helped communities to adopt project management processes and good governance principles during the program. There already are plans to extend the program to enable an additional 10 farmer cooperatives to build facilities to support their local communities.

“The investment in new schools and clinics clearly demonstrate the critical role farmer cooperatives play in improving the education and living standards in their communities,” said Lionel Soulard, Managing Director West Africa, Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate. “By bringing together the resources and expertise of public-private partners it is empowering farmer cooperatives and supporting a sustainable future for cocoa growing communities.”