Tony's Fair the Ghanaian way

Last week, our chain director Arjen visited the cocoa farmers in Ghana to attend the annual members meeting of the farmers' cooperative ABOCFA (Tony's Fair, but Ghanaian style). The meeting lasted  a whopping 7 hours! Go Arjen! But absolutely worth it, because this is also where Tony's premium was paid out to the farmers and... of course you asked questions to the cocoa farmers. Curious what happened in those 7 hours? You can read it below.

What about ABOCFA again
ABOCFA is a relatively young cooperative  in the south of Ghana. Because they still have few sales markets, it is difficult to become a strong, professional organization. Tony's tries to give them a helping hand with this.  The board is now receiving management training, the articles of association have been officially drawn up for the first time and a multi-year policy plan has been written.

The farmers decide
The members meeting was the 2nd annual meeting of ABOCFA. Milestone! Almost all 390 farmers who are members of the cooperative were present. A super special moment. Not only for the farmers present but also for us! It was nice to see that the farmers are so involved.

The 7-hour meeting consisted mainly of speeches from various dignitaries. For example, from the local Chief (village elder), representatives of the government, the local trader and of course Tony's. Elections were also held for a new board. The opportunity to choose the board themselves was received with great enthusiasm, causing everyone to wait in long lines for their turn. Because many farmers cannot write, they can vote by putting their fingerprint next to the photo of their favorite candidate. The counting of votes then took place on stage, so that everyone could see that the elections were fair.

Premium
The most important agenda item of the day for most farmers was the payment of Tony's extra premium. Of our total premium for ABOCFA, 20% is paid to farmers. This time, in addition to their premium, all farmers also received a new chopping knife (to maintain their cocoa trees) and new young cocoa plants.

During the meeting it was decided how the rest of this extra premium will be spent. Namely for:

–  Financing training for farmers
–  Joint purchasing of pesticides
–  Transportation of beans (shared operational costs)
–  Organic and Fairtrade certification

Another important decision by the farmers is to hire a professional manager at short notice. A big step in the professionalization of ABOCFA.

Best Farmer Contest
It is already becoming a true tradition:  the Best Farmer Contest. The best farmers were rewarded with, among other things, a T-shirt, but the very best farmer (in the blue jacket) received a mist blower sponsored by us, a kind of Ghostbusters machine that professionally applies the correct (organic!) pesticides to the cocoa. can be sprayed.

Critical note
The last but certainly not unimportant point that was discussed is that ABOCFA has difficulty meeting all the requirements of Fairtrade certification. In itself it is not surprising for a developing organization like ABOCFA, but it is necessary that things are put in order. During the meeting it was discussed what steps have already been taken recently to improve things. More action is already being taken to prevent child labor and the cooperative's financial management has already improved considerably. One thing is certain; Tony's will not abandon farmers in the coming years, but will continue to work with them on a fair and impactful chain.

What you wanted to know from the cocoa farmers we work with

How often do the cocoa farmers eat a Tony's bar and do they like it?
Every time Team Tony's goes to Ghana, a suitcase filled with bars goes with it. Farmer's wife Comfort Adina says that she eats a piece of chocolate a few times a year. All farmers find Tony's milk bars very tasty, but most find them pure too bitter. Comfort only has one type of chocolate and that is ours. When Arjen asked what she thought of Tony's chocolate, she said: 'Tony's is the tastiest'.

Are the farmers aware of the activities that Tony's operates for their well-being?
Discussions showed that the farmers are particularly aware of the activities that take place in Ghana itself, such as making the annual meeting possible, the Best Farmer Contest (to motivate farmers to produce more professionally), the construction of toilet facilities at schools and the training of the board.  Farmer Juliet Ansah specifically mentions the training given on how farmers can best maintain their plantations. However, not every farmer knew about the extra activities outside the trade.

I want to know what dreams they have for themselves and their children, and how someone on the other side of the world could help make them come true.
Several farmers, such as farmer Juliet Ansah, indicated that education is number 1. They want their children to be well educated so that they can either find a good job or become a good farmer. At the moment, the level of education is too low and children often do not even learn to read and write properly. Juliet Ansah's dream is: 'I want to continue growing enough high-quality cocoa so that I can earn enough to pay for good education for my children.

Do the farmers themselves use cocoa in dishes and if so, what do they make with it?
No, but they do eat and drink the pulp and the juice that comes from the cocoa fruit.

If the farmers could put together a Limited Editions Ghanaian bar themselves, what flavor combination would it be and why is that typically Ghanaian?
For the farmers, the taste of chocolate is already very special. The farmers we asked what they thought would be good to put in the chocolate just looked at us strangely. According to them, the milk chocolate is already tasty enough!

What aspects of cocoa production would they like to improve but do not have the resources for?
They would like more agricultural training so that they can produce more cocoa and improve the quality of their cocoa also improved. Another point that the farmers mentioned is that it is difficult to get loans to make investments.  Unfortunately, this means they are often unable to apply everything they learn during agricultural training, such as purchasing new plant material.

Do the farmers know what is made with their cocoa?
All farmers affiliated with ABOCFA have tasted Tony's Chocolate and therefore know what is made from their cocoa. Before they started delivering their cocoa beans to us, most of them had no idea what was made from their cocoa.