VOICE deepens partnerships in West Africa
Throughout the European summer months, the VOICE Network was able to make several strategically important visits in West Africa. Here’s what we were up to.
Cote d’Ivoire
The Ivorian Platform for Sustainable Cocoa and the Ghana Civil Society Cocoa Platform met in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire, from June 16–19 for their annual strategic meeting. It began with a field visit to the SCEB Cooperative, showcasing both opportunities and challenges in organic cocoa farming, with yields reaching up to 1 ton a hectare.
Facilitated by the VOICE network, the platforms reviewed recent developments, defined a joint workplan for the next 12 months, and exchanged insights on membership criteria. They also discussed preliminary findings from a joint study on cooperatives. The meeting concluded with a joint declaration and press conference affirming their commitment to continued collaboration.
Furthermore, on Tuesday, the 12th of August, Suzan Yemidi, the Head of Strategic Partnership for VOICE Network, paid a working visit to the Cote d’Ivoire Ghana Cocoa Initiative (CIGHCI) in Accra, Ghana, to introduce herself as the Head of Strategic Partnerships for the VOICE Network. She used the occasion to talk about the work of VOICE and the need to deepen collaboration with CIGHCI to mutually contribute to a sustainable cocoa sector. She met the Technical Manager, Tawia Agyarko, Head of Finance, Jibralla Souleymane, and Head of Administration, Widad Quaye.
It was great to confirm CIGHCI’s commitment to work with key partners such as the VOICE Network to advocate for a sustainable supply within the framework of CIGHCI’s mandate.
Ghana
On Monday, July 21st, Suzan Yemidi also paid a courtesy visit to the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (EKN) in Accra, Ghana, to introduce herself and the VOICE Network. She met with Naomi Tuinstra (Second Secretary, Economic Affairs), Peter Dadzie (Policy Officer, Cocoa and Business Development), and Alex Kruijsse. She discussed opportunities for working together to contribute to a sustainable Cocoa Sector in Ghana.
Suzan talked about VOICE’s priority areas for advocacy, including Living Income, Human Rights, Environmental Protection, and Good Governance.
She reiterated VOICE’s approach of working with partners in the sector to push the sustainable cocoa agenda, highlighting a key priority of supporting CSOs from producer countries to be visible in the global discourse, such as by having more members from West Africa and Latin America joining Voice, and also using the flagship biennial Barometer as an evidence-based advocacy tool.
Suzan also shed light on VOICE’s partnership with the Ghana Cocoa Civil Society Platform (GCCP) and the Platforme Ivoirienne pour le Cacao Durable (PICD) in Côte d’Ivoire as a key strategy for inclusive producer voices in advocacy.
On their part, Naomi Tuinstra emphasized the Embassy’s commitment to a sustainable cocoa sector and willingness to work collaboratively with the VOICE Network. More specifically, she invited VOICE to be a member of the Ghana Cocoa Coalition (a platform of NGOs working in the cocoa sector), which is Embassy currently hosts. Members of the coalition include International Justice Mission, 100weeks, ITC, Agriterra, UNICEF, ILO, Rainforest Alliance, Tony’s Chocolonely, Solidaridad, SNV, and Tropenbos Ghana. Getting right to work, VOICE officially joined the Cocoa Coalition with Suzan participating in its 2nd quarterly meeting held on 25th July.
Over the next few weeks, Suzan will continue to engage key partners in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.
