At a ceremony held in Accra, the World Cocoa Foundation announced the launch of the Cocoa Livelihoods Program (CLP) in Ghana. The program, first announced in February 2009, is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 12 chocolate industry companies (including Barry Callebaut) and is expected to significantly improve the livelihoods of nearly 60,000 cocoa farmers in Ghana over the next five years.

The work in Ghana is part of a larger, five country program targeting 200,000 cocoa growing households across Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Cameroon and Liberia. Activitiesin Ghana will focus on improving production and quality at the farm level, equippingfarmers with business skills, promoting diversification of income, and improving access toinputs and support services. In Ghana, 21 districts in the Ashanti, Eastern, Brong–Ahafo,Western and Central Regions will benefit from the program. Accra will serve as the headquarters for the program.