By Florence Afriyie Mensah
Ejisu (Ash), March 14, GNA – Executives within the Hotspot Intervention Areas (HIAs) under the Ghana Cocoa Forest REDD+ Programme, have built their capacities to drive collaborative multi-stakeholder action.
The six-day training organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), focused on stakeholder engagement process management, achieving a deeper understanding of the power dynamics of diverse interested parties in the landscape and identifying strategies for management and utilisation.
Participants also sharpened skills in reporting and data management skills, ability to leverage Information Communication Technologies (ICT) for the multi-stakeholder collaboration as well as identify and leverage opportunities for sustainable investments that support both environmental conservation and economic development.
Mr Mathias Edetor, National Project Manager, Green Commodities Programme at UNDP, at the opening of the training at Ejisu in the Ashanti Region, said equipping executives with the right knowledge to deal with and drive stakeholder action in the landscape, would promote sustainable cocoa production.
He indicated that a number of factors, including climate change and other environmental challenges in the landscape, contributed to low yields in cocoa production.
It was for these reasons, the Green Commodities Programme with funding from the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), needed to team up with multiple stakeholders to identify solutions to improve cocoa production, and trade as well as transformation of agricultural systems.
Mr Edetor said it was UNDP’s firm belief that “when the grassroots are firm, we can work together to fight issues of unhealthy environmental practices and promote climate-smart cocoa production.”
Addressing these capacity gaps was crucial for ensuring that HIA executives could effectively engage and manage diverse stakeholders, including farmer cooperatives, private sector actors, and government institutions.
They would navigate complex power dynamics and interests to drive inclusive, and participatory decision-making processes.
Mr Sylvester Mensah, a training beneficiary and Board Chairman of Sefwi-Wiawso HIA, mentioned that communities have benefitted from the GCFRP both from the use of carbon payments and supports received from partners in promoting afforestation, climate-smart agriculture, and land restoration activities to enhance productivity and nature conservation.
He said the GCFRP had assisted with farming inputs and other community projects including potable drinking water and schools adding that, the Green Commodity Programme was essential for them to strengthen their collaboration with the multiple stakeholders and partners they work with in the cocoa forest landscapes to sustain these benefits
The HIA Executives are drawn from the six HIAs, which include Asunafo–Asutifi, Kakum, Ahafo Ano, Sefwi Wiawso, Juaboso–Bia and Atewa.
GNA