Launched in January 2019, the Kakum Cocoa Agroforestry Landscape Program in Ghana is an exciting new partnership between Hershey, the Nature Conservation Research Centre, Ghana’s Forestry Commission, the Ghana Cocoa Board and our supplier, Ecom Agrotrade Ltd. The purpose of the program is to transform the cocoa-forest landscape into a more sustainable cocoa agroforestry system.

The program has trained more than 250 community leaders to sustainably manage their cocoa farming and lands that surround the Kakum National Park—an area equivalent to 20 times the size of Manhattan. This has been done through the creation of by-laws, management plans and monitoring systems that protect the forest and its biodiversity, while improving farming practices and incomes.

One-third of trainees were women and there are now 31 Community Resource Management Committees set up across four larger areas covering over 20,000 hectares. We also provided Climate Smart Agricultural training to 50 percent of farmers in Hershey’s supply chain and distributed shade trees to all farmers in the program. In October 2019, Hershey received an award in recognition of our efforts and leadership toward Ghana’s REDD+ implementation of the Ghana Cocoa Forest REDD+ Program for our work in Kakum.

Read more in Hershey's 2019 Sustainability Report

The Hershey Company

The Hershey Company

The Hershey Company is headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania and is an industry-leading snacks company known for making more moments of goodness through its iconic brands, remarkable people and enduring commitment to doing the right thing for its people, planet and communities. Hershey has nearly 20,000 employees in the U.S. and around the world who work every day to deliver delicious, high-quality products. The company has more than 100 brand names in approximately 80 countries worldwide that drive more than $10.4 billion in annual revenues, including Hershey's, Reese's, Kit Kat®, Jolly Rancher and Ice Breakers, and fast-growing salty snacks including SkinnyPop, Pirate's Booty and Dot's Homestyle Pretzels.  

For more than 125 years, Hershey has been committed to operating fairly, ethically and sustainably. The candy and snack maker’s founder, Milton Hershey, created Milton Hershey School in 1909 and since then the company has focused on helping children succeed through equitable access to education. 

To learn more visit www.thehersheycompany.com.

More from The Hershey Company