Danish partnership benefits children from the cocoa supply chain in Ghana

The recurrent focus on the issue of child labour in the cocoa bean supply chain caused Danish chocolate manufacturer, Toms, to partner with Danida and IBIS, a Danish aid NGO. This partnership has resulted in a Toms education project in Ghana, improving the quality of schooling for 15,000 children in cocoa producing areas.

The project has already made a difference for thousands of children in Ghana and at the same time has been an important learning process for Toms. This project in Ghana was a first for Toms. It has given Toms hands-on experience from the supply chain and, at the same time, spread a sense of satisfaction amongst the company’s employees about this corporate responsibility initiative.

Toms has always sourced most of its cocoa from Ghana. Although Toms is the largest confectionery manufacturer in Denmark, its cocoa purchases are equivalent to about one percent of Ghana’s total cocoa exports. Though Toms is a somewhat small player in the international cocoa market, the company decided to make a commitment to the Ghanaian cocoa producers corresponding to the size of its purchases. The education project is one expression of this commitment.

One of the biggest issues to consider when buying cocoa from Ghana is the issue of child labour. Due to its commitment to the Global Compact, Toms wishes to dissociate itself from all cases of child labour. However, the issue of child labour in the cocoa supply chain is complicated, as it is intertwined with poverty and cultural traditions.

Cocoa in Ghana is produced by approximately 850,000 small family farms. Many of these families are very poor and have their children assist them to generate more income. How best to be a cocoa farmer is traditionally passed on from generation to generation, and it is therefore very important to the parents to make sure that their children will be able to take over the farm one day.

The problem is not that children help their parents farm cocoa. But when helping the parents prevents the child from attending school, or when it harms the child physiologically or mentally, it is considered to be child labour.

The project that Toms has embarked upon addresses the goal of protecting children, and consists of several components.

The project seeks not only to ensure that children attend school; it also seeks to ensure that they stay in school. The quality of education in rural schools is often so poor that it demotivates both children and parents, who are unsure what good will come out of attending school. The poor quality stems from both outdated teacher education and, more commonly, a basic lack of teachers. Very few teachers wish to work in remote areas, like the cocoa producing areas, and so teaching in village schools is often undertaken by young boys or girls with no formal training. Though the young untrained teacher’s efforts are an attempt to give the children some kind of education, the quality is often so poor that parents choose to keep their children at home.

As a result of this vicious circle, the main component of the project addresses the teachers. The Ghanaian Government already has an education system set up in these areas but is faced with many challenges, among other things due to a lack of resources. The project therefore feeds into the existing governmental structure.

In the districts encompassed by the project, about 400 trained teachers and 350 untrained teachers have been supported, either by updating their teaching capabilities or providing actual teacher training.

So far, the outcome of the training as well as the commitment from the teachers has been overwhelming. For example, the untrained teachers spend almost all their spare time and vacations at the training college, overjoyed in their eagerness to receive formal training. Most importantly, the feedback from the teachers themselves shows that the project benefits the children in more than only academic ways. One of the teachers reported no longer hitting the children, as his training has equipped him pedagogically to refrain from corporal punishment when situations arise in the classroom. The same teacher also explained how the children now confide in him, because he has realized that his responsibility is not only to teach but also help the children and prepare them for a future outside of school.

As in many places in Africa, the schools have no or only very few educational materials. As part of the project and as a way of supporting the teachers, the project also supplies such materials to the schools.

The project takes a holistic approach. Accordingly, it not only focuses on the teachers but also the parents. As a result, a local NGO has been engaged in the project to support existing or start up new Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) as a means of involving the parents in their children’s education and as a way of addressing the issue of child labour.

Furthermore, radio programmes have been produced and broadcasted locally. The programmes are primarily addressed at the parents and are yet another way of engaging parents on the issues and dilemmas also discussed in the PTAs.

In addition to the actual project in Ghana, Toms has decided to share the experience from the project with Danish students. Every year, approximately 15,000 students visit Toms to gain an insight into the company and chocolate production. Toms wishes to use this opportunity to communicate with the visitors about the company and its supply chain. The students will therefore be introduced to the way of life and challenges of children in the cocoa producing areas.

The education project has enjoyed success and strives to ensure that all children in the cocoa supply chain are treated properly. Similarly, Toms’ engagement in the cocoa supply chain is a sign of its commitment to responsible and proper management.