Touton: The business case for a landscape approach to sustainable cocoa production in Ghana

“Cocoa production and sustainable forest management are closely linked, and strongly influence each other. The challenge is now to turn the vicious cycle of environmental degradation and low productivity into a virtuous one of sound environmental management and highly productive systems. The challenge is great. As is Touton’s commitment to contribute to addressing it.”

Patrick de Boussac, CEO, Touton

Declining production due to climate change on ageing cocoa fields has driven trading company Touton to engage in a landscape approach in the Bia West and Juabeso districts in West­ern Ghana. The approach sees Touton working closely with Ghana’s Cocoa Board and other government bodies to establish a landscape forest governance framework, find solutions to land tenure challenges and develop a Climate-Smart Cocoa (CSC) standard.

The company intends to report to its partners on sustainability outcomes at the landscape scale using the standard in the coming years, while simultaneously contributing to the government’s efforts to meet its REDD+ commitments. The approach seeks to mitigate risks regarding future supply and provides a platform to work in partnership with the government for a ‘win-win’ solution.

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