In a collaborative effort to address the upcoming European Union Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (EU CS3D), the International Trade Centre (ITC) and Ghana’s Cocobod have spearheaded a critical workshop in Accra, Ghana.
Partnering with the European Union, the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), and ISEAL, the workshop, held on November 23 in Accra, aims to enlighten stakeholders in the Ghanaian cocoa value chain about the implications of the EU CS3D and equip them with the necessary tools for its implementation.
This comes after a recent adoption of a directive by the EU mandating companies to conduct sustainability due diligence in their supply chains, holding them accountable for identifying, preventing, and mitigating environmental and social risks.
This directive encompasses a company’s own operations as well as its sourcing model, emphasising the importance of responsible business practices.
Deputy Chief Executive of Agronomy and Control , Dr. Ebenezer Owusu, in an interview with journalists cited illegal mining as a challenge militating against the project.
“The illegal mining agents talk to the farmers. I want to give you say five thousand cedis. Give this area of your farm to me to use for galamsey. They need money so some of these farmers will go for it without thinking that if they leave that land and harvest their Cocoa, within 3 or 4 years, they will get more than that,” he said.
According to the National Coordinator for Alliance for Action Programmes at ITC, Mr. Larry Attipoe, the move will help farmers export their produce through the channels of the European Union.
“The project is to ensure that value chain have the information. Secondly that we start to prepare by asking how we ensure we are complying with human rights regulations and also ensure that we are respecting the environment in our value chain,” he said.
Adding his voice, the Netherlands Ambassador to Ghana, Jeroen Verheul said “Cocoa is a very important product in the trade between Netherlands and Ghana and the EU regulations we are discussing here have strong impact on the way we trade Cocoa. What we want to achieve with this workshop is to enhance collaborations between all the different persons involved in the value chain of cocoa and chocolate”
Ghana, in anticipation of the CS3D requirements, is taking proactive steps, with the Ghana Cocoa Board collaborating closely with ITC’s Alliances for Action sustainable agribusiness initiative. Together, they are leading discussions, organizing trainings, conducting readiness assessments, and soliciting feedback for a comprehensive action plan within Ghana’s cocoa sector.
The stakeholder workshop, themed ‘Ghana’s Experience, Preparation, and Challenges Towards Meeting the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D),’ is convened in collaboration with OACPS, ISEAL, and the European Union’s Directorate General for International Partnerships.
Supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the Netherlands Trust Fund (NTF V) programme, the workshop draws insights from pilot programs on EUCS3D accompanying measures for producers and processors, aiming to make producers’ voices heard and generate actionable ideas.
