The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has hosted Ms. Catarina Vieira, a Member of the European Parliament, on a two-day working visit to Ghana aimed at gaining firsthand insight into the country’s cocoa traceability system, sustainability framework and quality assurance processes across the entire value chain, from farm to port.
The visit formed part of the European Union’s ongoing engagement with cocoa-producing countries to assess readiness and compliance with the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which requires that agricultural commodities entering the EU market are produced in a deforestation-free and legally compliant manner.
Ms. Vieira led a delegation comprising officials from the European Union Delegation in Ghana and the German Development Cooperation (GIZ). The team undertook a field mission to cocoa-growing communities in Suhum in the Eastern Region, where they interacted with farmers and observed on-farm traceability systems, farm mapping using GPS technology, and sustainable production practices, including climate-smart agriculture and child labour risk monitoring.
The delegation also visited COCOBOD’s warehouse and quality control facilities in Tema to observe cocoa grading, sealing, storage and export documentation procedures, which ensure that Ghanaian cocoa meets international quality and traceability standards before shipment to the European market.
The visit culminated in a high-level engagement with COCOBOD’s management at Cocoa House in Accra, where discussions focused on Ghana’s national traceability architecture, the Ghana Cocoa Traceability System (GCTS), deforestation risk management, farm rehabilitation programmes, and ongoing efforts to improve farmer livelihoods while safeguarding forest resources.
