Fair Trade Ghana Network

Some of our certified producers earn Fairtrade premiums which are additional sums of money over and above the Fairtrade price. The premiums go into a communal fund for producers and workers to support and improve themselves and their communities. This has led to the achievement of a number of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Premiums have been an important source of economic empowerment and financial inclusion for some cocoa producer unions like Asunafo North, Kuapa Kokoo, West Akyem and Fanteakwa.
Some of their achievements in provision of Credit to their members include:
• Establishment of community savings and loans schemes with low interest credit to members
• Establishment of savings and loans companies
• Giving cash bonus to farmers for the payment of children school fees and hiring of labour etc.

In the area of Education, Golden Exotics, VREL, Asunafo North and Kuapa Kokoo unions have used their premiums in building School blocks, teachers’ quarters, science labs, vocational training centres and in the establishment of scholarship schemes, provision of books and IT equipment.

In the area of Health, Kuapa Kokoo and Asunafo North are notable among the producer organisations (POs) that have applied their premiums to the following:
• Building and renovation of Clinics
• Provision of equipment and fixtures
• Health screening exercises for the community
• Telemedicine – use of ICT to transfer medical information between health workers and patients
• Registration of members onto the National Health Insurance Scheme.

Under Youth and Women Empowerment, the following cocoa unions, West Akyem, Fanteakwa, Kukuom, Abocfa and Kuapa Kokoo stand out among the producer organisations that have used their premiums in the following initiatives:
• Youth in agriculture, training and employment of youth.
• Support for women in additional livelihood such as soap making, bee keeping and ruminants production.

For Water and Sanitation, Kuapa Kokoo, Kukuom, Asunafo North, West Akyem and Fanteakwa cocoa unions have also made impacts through the use of their premiums for the following:
• Construction of toilets, boreholes and basic water systems

All the cocoa unions have used their premiums to boost their members’ farm productivity through:
• Provision of approved inputs to members
• Supply of planting materials
• Capacity building in Good Agricultural practices (GAPs)

The Environment and Mitigation of Climate Change have also benefitted from the use of premiums.
Asunafo North and Kuapa Kokoo cocoa unions that have used their premiums to support re-afforestation and cover cropping.

Under Child protection, all the cocoa unions have been part of the concrete efforts at dealing with child labour issues.