The innovative GeoT GPS process, according to the Hershey Company, will for the first time — in more than 130 years of cocoa farming in Ghana — help more than 1,000 participating farmers size their cocoa farms accurately. The new GPS programme, which is part of Hershey Learn to Grow programme, will use GPS mapping […]
The innovative GeoT GPS process, according to the Hershey Company, will for the first time — in more than 130 years of cocoa farming in Ghana — help more than 1,000 participating farmers size their cocoa farms accurately.
The new GPS programme, which is part of Hershey Learn to Grow programme, will use GPS mapping in an initiative expected to help the farmers plan and manage cocoa farms in addition to increasing yields and income.
It is also set to help the farmers understand the actual size of their farms making it easier to utilize fully the latest practices in planting, pruning and fertilizer techniques for maximum yield and sustainability.
Hershey has since selected The Assin Foso District in the heart of Ghana’s central cocoa region as the site for the programme’s farm and community learning centre.
The program will help more than 1,000 farm families and 5,000 cocoa community members improve their livelihoods by learning the latest in modern farming techniques and agricultural stewardship, including appropriate and inappropriate uses of labor, says Hershey.
Hershey’s training programmes will be based on an interactive curriculum to teach cocoa farmers about optimal agricultural, environmental and social practices.
The programme is part of the Hershey Learn to Grow initiative announced early last year by the company as part of its US$10 million commitment in West Africa — during the next five years to accelerate the company’s cocoa programs in the region.
The Hershey Learn to Grow programme also aims at bringing high-tech learning to rural farm villages through technology centers that provide computer access to local schools, farmers and the community.
Headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania, The Hershey Company is the largest producer of quality chocolate in North America and a global leader in chocolate and sugar confectionery.
Last year, the company announced it had introduced mobile phone technology for cocoa farmers in an innovative program called CocoaLink, a GPS mapping and CocoaLink, demonstrating that low cost and widely available technology, provide farmers with new tools to modernize their cocoa farms and boost their productivity and livelihoods.
