Whittaker’s co-chief operating officer Holly Whittaker plants a shade tree at one of the company’s cocoa cooperatives in Ghana.
Whittaker’s is expanding its support for cocoa farmers and their communities in Ghana, with new initiatives covering healthcare, women’s empowerment and further shade-tree planting.
The New Zealand chocolate manufacturer says the initiatives build on its existing investment in the cocoa cooperatives it sources from and are intended to complement the work undertaken through Rainforest Alliance certification.
Whittaker’s co-chief operating officers Holly and Matt Whittaker say long-term relationships with supplier cocoa cooperatives, together with regular visits to Ghana, help the company identify where additional support can make a difference.
“Hearing directly from our cocoa farmers is critical for understanding what will really make a difference on the ground, and our new healthcare project is a direct result from the insights I gained when Michael and I visited Ghana in November last year,” says Holly Whittaker.
The company has partnered with global non-governmental organisation Elucid on a project designed to improve access to healthcare for 1,000 cocoa farmers and their family members, potentially reaching up to 5,000 people at one of its Rainforest Alliance certified cocoa cooperatives in Ghana.
While Ghana provides public healthcare through its National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Whittaker’s says smallholder cocoa farmers in remote rural areas can face significant barriers to accessing it.
The project will support farmers and their families to enrol in the NHIS and access medical care through participating healthcare providers. It includes provision for supplementary emergency and essential care, including medications and pre- and post-natal care, as well as mobile vision screening clinics.
“We’re delighted to be working with Elucid on this project, as an established NGO that is already operating in the area where this cocoa cooperative is located with a strong track record of project delivery. They have robust data collection, monitoring and evaluation processes in place for reporting results, which will inform decision-making around future commitments to providing healthcare support for our cocoa farmers,” says Whittaker.
Whittaker’s is also partnering with Assinman Women’s Cooperative, which represents 1,118 female cocoa farmers and is the first women-only cocoa cooperative in Ghana to gain Rainforest Alliance certification.
“While we are currently developing our supply chain policies for continuous improvement in key areas including gender, we are delighted to be in a position to take immediate action on supporting women’s empowerment in the cocoa supply chain by partnering with Assinman Women’s Cooperative,” says Whittaker.
The initiatives add to existing projects funded by Whittaker’s in Ghana, including new facilities at local schools, water bores and an extensive shade-tree planting programme.
Since 2024, the company has invested in planting 170,000 shade trees across 2,200 hectares at its cocoa cooperatives and provided farmers with training in their care.
Matt Whittaker says shade trees create a protective canopy for cocoa crops, helping buffer them against extreme heat and drought while improving soil fertility, reducing erosion and extending the productive lifespan of cocoa trees.
“Based on the success of this initiative to date, including the feedback we have had directly from our cocoa cooperatives on how this benefits them, we plan to do more shade tree planting as part of our ongoing sustainability programme,” says Whittaker.
Whittaker’s says the combined initiatives form part of its wider approach to building a sustainable and ethical cocoa supply chain.
“While our scale and commensurate influence within the global cocoa landscape is relatively small, we aim to make a meaningful impact by investing in projects that meet specific needs at the Rainforest Alliance certified cocoa cooperatives that we source cocoa beans from,” says Whittaker.
All Whittaker’s chocolate is manufactured from bean to bar at its Porirua factory, using fully traceable cocoa beans sourced from Rainforest Alliance certified farms.
