In 2017, the CAA Council, which is made up of members elected annually, decided that 5% of the total certification premium would be used for community development. A needs assessment was carried out among hundreds of members and had a very clear outcome: potable water was the number one priority.

Safe drinking water

In 2016, Ghana had a rural population of over 12 million, consisting primarily of farmers. Access to safe drinking water is a major problem here. According to the World Health Organization, over one billion people around the globe rely on polluted water, and in Ghana alone, the figure stands at three million. Cocoa farmers and families suffer the typical health and social effects of not having a local source of potable water.
Women and young girls walk long distances every day for water from questionable sources. Muddy springs, small ponds, and other unclean sources result in stomach ailments and diarrhoea, which contributes to an increased mortality rate, especially among children under the age of five. An added effect is that women lose the ability to contribute to the economic well-being of their families and children lose their opportunity to go to school. Lastly, good hygiene becomes considerably more complicated without clean water.

Boreholes

Boreholes can be used to extract water from the ground. Farmers will have to take action themselves. Since 2017, the CAA has created 25 boreholes in some of Ghana’s most deprived communities, and several more are in progress. The boreholes are built to require little maintenance, ensuring a long lifespan.