Cocoa has been one of the major crop contributors to Ghana’s GDP, with the country being the second largest cocoa exporter in the world. Indeed, an export Ghana has been particularly noted for. For a company like Google, which usually has a snack bar in every office, food sustainability is a major concern that usually causes them to take action, especially when it has to do with chocolate, a commodity a lot of people love. This is the reason for the Chocothon project. The project’s main goal is to provide a shared value platform for sustainable Ghanaian cocoa supply chains.
Like many challenges which face several sectors, the creation of new opportunities in cocoa production for farmers will not be solved by just one party. Hence, the project will launch in 3 phases, with an 3-day open event for stakeholders to share knowledge about three(3) main topics; the current situation of cocoa farming practices in Ghana, the International Trade Centre(ITC) tools, and tech solutions already available to include Ghanaian cocoa farmers in the supply chain. This first event, will run from January 18 – 20, at the Impact Hub Accra premises in Osu, Accra.
Subsequently, there will be a hackathon which will bring together developers, economists, cocoa producers, and experts in the sector to collaborate intensively on software innovation projects. These are the only details that have been given about the hackathon which will run on January 21st and 22nd.
Finally, Phase 1 of the project ends with a 3-day training for representatives of cocoa producers or producers’ coaches in the use of market analysis and sustainability related tools, all happening at the Impact Hub Accra.
The Chocothon project is led Google Food Lab (GFL) (through Google Ghana) and the International Trade Center (ITC) in collaboration with the Future Food Institute, the Business School Lausanne and the Googlers Give Global Leadership Program and with the support of Nestle, Barry Callebaut and the Food Inspiration Magazine.
For more updates, check the project website, or its Twitter and Facebook pages.
