The Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED) of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), in collaboration with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), has opened a two-day Stakeholder Engagement Workshop to review and finalize the 8th edition of the Farmer Business School (FBS) Climate Smart Training Materials for cocoa farmers.
The workshop, which brings together key actors in the cocoa sector, aims to validate and finalize the revised training manual that will be used to build the capacity of cocoa farmers across the country in climate resilient and business oriented cocoa production.
With the core objective of enhancing farmers’ competencies in managing their cocoa farms as profitable and sustainable businesses, the Farmer Business School curriculum equips cocoa farmers with essential business management skills, including record keeping, financial management, savings, investment, and basic accounting.
Over the years, the FBS has become a flagship farmer education programme within COCOBOD’s extension system, helping to transform the mind set of farmers from subsistence-oriented production to agribusiness enterprise management.
The 8th edition of the materials has been significantly revised to incorporate climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices, responding to the growing threat of climate change to cocoa production in Ghana.
The new edition seeks to give farmers a deeper understanding of climate change adaptation and mitigation, as well as environmental management practices that promote sustainable cocoa production and strengthen long-term resilience.
Climate Smart Focus Critical to Future of Cocoa
Delivering the keynote address to open the workshop, the Executive Director of CHED, Dr. Richard Adu Acheampong, underscored the importance of the FBS concept and particularly commended the infusion of climate-smart cocoa farming techniques into the revised curriculum.
He noted that climate variability, rising temperatures, unpredictable rainfall patterns, and land degradation continue to pose serious risks to cocoa yields and farmer incomes, making it imperative to equip farmers with knowledge and practical tools to adapt.
“Climate change is no longer a distant threat; it is affecting our farmers today. The integration of climate-smart practices into the Farmer Business School is therefore not just timely but essential for the future of Ghana’s cocoa sector.”
DR. Acheampong
He commended the continued support of GIZ and other key partners including the Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade, for their sustained collaboration in strengthening Ghana’s cocoa sector and supporting COCOBOD’s productivity enhancement and sustainability agenda.
Dr. Acheampong said CHED remains committed to delivering effective extension services that combine agronomic best practices with business acumen, adding that the finalization of the 8th edition will mark a major step towards rolling out standardized, climate-responsive training to cocoa farming communities nationwide.
Stakeholder Validation for Practical, Relevant Materials
Over the two-day workshop, participants drawn from research institutions, development partners, farmer organizations and relevant government agencies are expected to critically review the technical content, relevance and practicality of the training modules.
The review process will focus on ensuring that the language, illustrations and examples in the materials are farmer-friendly, gender-sensitive, and applicable to diverse cocoa-growing ecologies across Ghana.
Participants will also assess how well the modules address emerging issues such as agroforestry, shade management, soil fertility management, water conservation, integrated pest management, and climate risk management.
Once validated, the materials will be printed and deployed through CHED’s extension system, with Community Extension Agents (CEAs) and other facilitators trained to deliver the content to Farmer Business School groups in all seven cocoa growing regions.
Officials from GIZ explained that the FBS approach has been refined over the years through field testing and farmer feedback, and the 8th edition reflects lessons learned from implementation, as well as new scientific insights on climate adaptation.
GIZ has been a long-standing partner of COCOBOD in the development and rollout of the Farmer Business School concept under its Green Cocoa and Sustainable Cocoa programmes. The partnership has supported the training of thousands of cocoa farmers in good agricultural, business and environmental practices.
Stakeholders at the workshop expressed optimism that the revised climate-smart FBS manual will not only improve farm productivity and profitability but also contribute to Ghana’s commitments to sustainable cocoa production, deforestation-free supply chains and climate resilience.
The two-day stakeholder workshop is expected to conclude with a firm consensus on final amendments to the 8th edition of the Farmer Business School Climate Smart materials.
There will be a clear roadmap for the nationwide rollout of the revised training manual to cocoa farming communities, in time for implementation during the upcoming 2025/2026 cocoa season across the country.
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