Invest for Jobs, an initiative of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, has launched a project with Touton to ensure the survival of the cocoa industry.
The project – ‘Cocoa Jobs for Organic Integrated and Improved Rural Economy’ will promote the organic and climate-smart cocoa production value chain in Ghana.
This is in line with the Ghana Green Jobs Strategy of the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations.
‘Invest for Jobs’ is the brand of the Special Initiative on Training and Job Creation, implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, among others.
Unemployment is a key challenge facing Ghana. Half of young people between the ages of 15-24 in Ghana are currently out of school, and out of these 27% do not work.
Of those employed, only 5% work in the cocoa sector. GIZ and its partners including Touton, seek to address this growing unemployment problem with a targeted project to explore the expansive and potential opportunities offered by the cocoa value chain with a special focus on organic cocoa.
With the increasingly ageing cocoa farmers and tree stocks in Ghana, the project seeks to encourage young people within the cocoa-growing communities to pick up key opportunities that the industry offers to eventually take over from older farmers. “Huge opportunities exist for youth and women to deliver on- and off-farm goods and services. Improved employment opportunities within the cocoa subsector will ensure reduction in rural-urban migrations, improved incomes for the households leading to improved health while also empowering youth and women and protecting the rights of children,” says Country Manager of Touton Ghana, Ernest Dwamena.
All this is geared towards increasing the quantity and quality of cocoa beans sourced from Ghana, which will lead to further investments by the company.
“As part of efforts to promote investments by European companies in Ghana, Invest for Jobs, is pleased to cooperate with Touton. The cooperation with Touton is expected to promote investment and to create 1600 decent jobs for the local Ghanaian economy by the end of 2023,” noted Gerald Guskowski, Head of Programme for the Special Initiative on Training and Job Creation at GIZ Ghana.
The official launch was held at the Touton Processing Factory in Tema and included a field visit of the factory to understand the operations of the company and the level of investment in the area of processing.
This provided an overview of how the factory and other cocoa processing, and sourcing companies will benefit from the project in terms of efficiency and productivity at the production level.
About Touton
Touton is a leading agro-industrial actor. Their know-how builds on over 150 years experience of providing customers with high-quality commodities and services. In addition to delivering responsibly-sourced cocoa, coffee, vanilla and natural ingredients, they are now increasing their engagement in commodity-producing countries through processing operations in cocoa. With subsidiaries in originating regions and agents in key locations, Touton’s strength lies in the skills of its workers, the cultural diversity of its teams, and a deep understanding of the countries in which the company operates.
About the Invest for Jobs
GIZ has been commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development to implement the Special Initiative on Training and Job Creation under the Invest for Jobs brand in Ghana. The objective is to promote job-creating growth of enterprises in Ghana and other African countries. To this end, measures will be implemented to help build a more enabling environment for investment by European enterprises in Ghana, increase the capacities of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in Ghana and improve the business ecosystem for selected sectors.
For more information please visit www.invest-for-jobs.com/en/.
About GIZ
As a provider of international cooperation services for sustainable development and international education work, GIZ is dedicated to building a future worth living around the world. GIZ has over 50 years of experience in a wide variety of areas, including economic development and employment, energy and the environment, and peace and security.
We work with businesses, civil society actors, and research institutions, fostering successful interaction between development policy and other policy fields and areas of activity. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is our main commissioning party.
Currently, GIZ promotes sustainable development in Ghana via about 50 programmes and projects. Our activities currently cover three priority areas: Energy and Climate, with a concentration on renewable energy and energy efficiency; Training and Sustainable Growth for Decent Jobs, and Peaceful and Inclusive Societies, which looks at good governance. For more information, please visit www.giz.de/ghana