Rainforest Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to conserving biodiversity and ensuring sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behaviour, is working with Ghanaians stakeholders to develop local standards for sustainable cocoa production in the country.
The guidelines, which are to be published soon, will cover labour, social, remuneration of workers engaged on cocoa farms as well as the use of child labour on cocoa farms.
Mr Oliver Bach, the Standards and Policy Manager of Rainforest Alliance, made this known at 3-day basic auditors training course for potential auditors and 10 technical officers from the Ministry of Agriculture, Farmer Association and Cooperatives and industry partners.
The course aims to transfer knowledge on standards for sustainable agriculture and RainForest Alliance Certification requirements and processes to potential auditors and to technical advisors helping farmers and producer groups prepare for the certification.
Participants who passed the course on sustainable Agriculture Network Standards and Rainforest Alliance Certification will move on to the candidate phase of the course.
Mr Bach said efforts were made to involve as many stakeholders, such government, Cocobod and farmers in the process of drawing up the guidelines to enable the programme to achieve a high level of credibility and acceptance.
He said balance participation was critical to getting all involved and to enable them appreciate the tools for sustainability that had been drawn up to move the cocoa industry forward.
The Rainforest Alliance's sustainable agriculture program oversees the certification of farms that produce tropical crops, including coffe, bananas, cocoa, oranges, flowers, ferns, and tea.
To obtain certification, farms must meet a set of environmental and social standards, including agrochemical reduction, ecosystem conservation, and worker health and safety.
Mr Bach said Rainforest certification assured consumers that producers had followed good farm management and environmental practices.
The Rainforest Alliance encourages businesses and consumers to support sustainable agriculture by buying products grown on certified farms.
By February 2006, nearly 2,000 square kilometres (nearly 475,000 acres) of land on more than 4,500 farms and cooperatives in 12 countries had obtained Rainforest Alliance certification.