Cargill Ghana Limited has cut the sod for the construction of 10 mechanized solar water systems in cocoa-growing areas. The project aims to improve access to safe water in 10 cocoa growing rural communities.
The ten communities are Kramokrom, Punikrom, Ntrentreso, Surano, Baakokrom, Kantankrobo, Asafo, Abrabra, Nambro and Afamu in the Western North region. The selection of the aforementioned communities resulted from a needs assessment in collaboration with CARE International. In all, a total of 6,000 people in 10 communities will benefit from the water project.
Specifically, the sustainability project is a partnership between Safe Water Network Ghana and Cargill. It is dubbed “Expanding sustainable access to safe water in cocoa-growing communities in Ghana.” The project is to support the attainment of the United Nation’s SDG Goal 6 of providing safe and affordable water for all by 2030.
“Cargill is committed to using the power of partnership to bring transformation in the lives of our cherished cocoa farmers and their communities. This project is a necessity as it will contribute to improving the livelihood of the farmers and subsequently keep the cocoa sector alive.”
Samuel Apana, Sustainability Country Lead of Cargill.
Commitments toward safe water provision
Specifically, Safe Water Network Ghana will procure equipment for installation of the 10 new micro-water systems. The organization will improve access to clean water in the communities using mechanized water treatment technology. The technology involves a water tank of 5,000L storage capacity with six taps connected to a borehole. Power for the whole system will be from a four-panel solar system.
The Local District Assemblies of the communities will own the solar water systems. However, locally trained community water and sanitation management teams will operate and manage the solar water systems.
“We are excited about our partnership with Cargill which is not only providing new safe water infrastructure. We are also investing in developing local level operating skill capability to keep it going in the long term.”
Charles Nimako, Safe Water Network Country Director
According to Cargill, the cost of the initiative is US$150,000.00 which is approximately equivalent to GH¢ 864,750. The construction of all ten mechanized micro-water systems in the ten communities of Western North Region will take six months to complete. This new initiative also exemplifies Cargill’s commitment to the “Cargill Cocoa Promise.” The “Cargill Cocoa Promise” aims to ensure a thriving and sustainable cocoa sector for future generations.
The Country Lead of Cargill Ghana also highlighted other contributions made to improve cocoa farmers livelihood. Cargill Kokoo Sourcing Ltd. (CKSL) only buys directly from farmers using latest technology to ensure full traceability of the cocoa from the farm gate to the customer. He also added that the Cargill CocoaWise, a centralized data platform, keeps sustainability data for building transparency and traceability.
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