New Mobile Phone Program to Connect Ghana Cocoa Farmers with Critical Information to Improve Livelihoods and Benefit Communities

ACCRA, Ghana--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY), and the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) announced today at the Ghana Cocoa House a first-of-its kind program to use mobile technology to deliver practical information on agricultural and social programs to rural cocoa farmers and enable the farmers to ask questions and provide feedback.

“Because any Ghanaian farmer with a mobile phone can sign up for CocoaLink, we expect more than 100,000 cocoa farmers and their families to benefit from this program during the next three years.”

The program, called “CocoaLink – Connecting Cocoa Communities,” will make use of Ghana’s rapidly developing mobile phone infrastructure and build on the existing successful WCF education and literacy programs to reach more than 8,000 Ghanaian cocoa farmers and community members in 15 pilot communities in the important cocoa-growing regions of Western Ghana.

The innovative program will use mobile technology to connect cocoa farmers with useful information about improving farming practices, farm safety, child labor, health, crop disease prevention, post-harvest production and crop marketing. Through voice and SMS text messages delivered in their local language or English, cocoa farmers will receive the information at no charge. They also will be able to share information and receive answers to specific questions relating to their cocoa farming livelihoods.

“This program offers an innovative, yet simple, way to get critical information to cocoa farmers that can have a tremendously positive impact on their livelihoods and on communities, including their children,” said Anthony Fofie, chief executive officer of COCOBOD. “We are delighted to be part of a program that we believe will make a substantial difference in the Ghana’s cocoa sector.”

“Harnessing emerging technology that directly benefits farmers and their communities will dramatically accelerate the flow of information to the cocoa regions,” said Hershey Company Vice President Andy McCormick. “Because any Ghanaian farmer with a mobile phone can sign up for CocoaLink, we expect more than 100,000 cocoa farmers and their families to benefit from this program during the next three years.”

“CocoaLink is another great example of the public-private partnerships that form the basis of WCF’s programs to benefit cocoa farmers, their families and their communities,” said Bill Guyton, President of the World Cocoa Foundation.

Ghana, which has more than 700,000 cocoa farmers, now has mobile phone coverage across approximately 85 percent of its geography, including remote rural areas. Recent studies estimate that more than 65 percent of Ghana’s rural residents have access to mobile phones. CocoaLink information will be available to any cocoa farmer with access to a mobile phone. Farmers can subscribe to the CocoaLink SMS text messages by entering a one-time “short code” number into their phone.

Cocoa farmers in the pilot communities have expressed their enthusiasm about the opportunities for information-sharing the new CocoaLink program will provide. For example, one cocoa farmer in the Denchembosue community in the Akontombra District, a mother of three who owns two small farms, says the SMS text messaging will make a big difference in managing her farms. It will also allow her to check with her children’s teachers at school while she is at the farm.

COCOBOD is providing program management and oversight on the development of the agricultural information and will provide ongoing field support and ensure relevance of information throughout the cocoa growing season. The Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) will provide agricultural and social content, and Dream Oval, a communications technology firm based in Accra, is providing technological support.

World Education, local partner for the WCF ECHOES Alliance’s existing functional literacy and numeracy training, also will oversee training for CocoaLink. Local trainers chosen by their communities who are already teaching literacy will also now be teaching farmers how to use the mobile technology provided through CocoaLink. Those Ghanaian trainers also will serve as a connection point for responding to farmers’ specific questions with information provided through the CocoaLink network. As part of an existing partnership agreement between WCF and the Peace Corps, Peace Corps volunteers working in Ghana will assist with logistics and program training in the CocoaLink communities (Ghana was the first country to receive a Peace Corps volunteer in 1961).

The CocoaLink program and the availability of important agricultural information will be promoted across Ghana through signage and other materials posted at local cocoa-buying stations where farmers sell their cocoa beans and within cocoa-farming communities.

For more information, visit www.worldcocoa.org.

About The Ghana Cocoa Board

The Ghana Cocoa Board traces its beginning further back to the cocoa hold-up of 1937 and was formally established by ordinance in 1947 with the sum of ¢27 million (Ghana's share of the net profit of the West African Produce Control Board) as its initial working capital. In 1957, the late Dr. Kwame Nkrumah the then President of the Republic of Ghana, laid the foundation stone to mark the construction of Cocoa House at Liberty Avenue, Accra, to provide offices for the Board. Cocoa House represents a concrete expression of the Board's faith in the future of the cocoa industry and is a monument to the hard work of the Ghanaian farmer.

About The Hershey Company

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is the largest producer of quality chocolate in North America and a global leader in chocolate and sugar confectionery. Headquartered in Hershey, Pa., The Hershey Company has operations throughout the world and more than 12,000 employees. With revenues of more than $5 billion, Hershey offers such iconic brands as Hershey's, Reese's, Hershey's Kisses, Kit Kat, Twizzlers and Ice Breakers as well as the smooth, creamy indulgence of Hershey's Bliss chocolates. Hershey is a leader in the fast-growing dark and premium chocolate segment, with such brands as Hershey's Special Dark and Hershey's Extra Dark. In addition, Artisan Confections Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Hershey Company, markets such premium chocolate offerings as Scharffen Berger and Dagoba. For more than 100 years, The Hershey Company has been a leader in making a positive difference in the communities where we live, work and do business. Milton Hershey School, established by the company's founder in 1909, provides a nurturing environment, quality education, housing, and medical care at no cost to children in social and financial need. The School is administered by the Hershey Trust Company, Hershey's largest shareholder, making the students of Milton Hershey School direct beneficiaries of Hershey's success.

About the World Cocoa Foundation

The World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) is an international membership foundation that promotes a sustainable cocoa economy by providing cocoa farmers with the tools they need to grow more and better cocoa, market it successfully, and make greater profits. These efforts help increase the supply of cocoa and help guarantee chocolate lovers access to their favorite products. WCF's membership includes cocoa and chocolate manufacturers, processors, supply chain managers, and other companies worldwide, representing more than 80 percent of the global cocoa market.