Whittaker’s has announced a new partnership with the Assinman Women Co-operative Cocoa Farmers & Marketing Union Limited, Ghana’s first Rainforest Alliance Certified women-only cocoa cooperative. Delivered with SafeCrop Limited and Federated Commodities PLC, it connects 1,118 women cocoa farmers directly to a chocolate maker that wants to source responsibly.
The women behind the cocoa
The Assinman Women Co-operative brings together 1,118 women cocoa farmers. They made history as Ghana’s first women-only cocoa cooperative to earn Rainforest Alliance certification.
That certification is not a badge handed out lightly. It reflects years of work on good agricultural practices, farm management and the social and environmental standards that buyers increasingly expect. These women are not waiting to be included in sustainable cocoa; they are already setting the pace for it.
Assinman is one of the cooperatives SafeCrop supports through its work on producer empowerment, cooperative development and certification.
How the partnership comes together
No single organisation can strengthen a cocoa supply chain alone. This partnership works because each partner covers a different link in the chain:
|
Partner |
Role in the partnership |
|---|---|
|
Assinman Women Co-operative |
1,118 certified women farmers producing sustainable cocoa |
|
SafeCrop Limited |
Supports the cooperative on organisation, certification and farmer services |
|
Federated Commodities PLC |
Licensed Cocoa Buying Company moving the cocoa through Ghana’s marketing system |
|
Whittaker’s |
Chocolate maker sourcing the cocoa and investing in grower communities |
For Whittaker’s, the partnership is part of a wider commitment to resilient cocoa-growing communities and to women’s empowerment across its supply chain. The company has said that while it continues to develop its policies on gender, it wants to take practical action now.
Our Managing Director, Akua Yeboah Oduro-Owusu, represented SafeCrop at the milestone alongside Whittaker’s Chief Supply Chain Officer.
Why it matters
Women do a large share of the work on cocoa farms, yet they have often had less access to land, training, finance and markets than men. A direct link between a women-led cooperative and an international buyer helps change that.
- Recognition for certified work. The Assinman farmers invested in meeting Rainforest Alliance standards. A committed buyer turns that effort into lasting market value.
- A stronger voice for women. A women-only cooperative gives members leadership roles and a collective say in how their cocoa is grown and sold.
- Resilient communities. Stable partnerships give farming households more confidence to invest in their farms, their families and their future.
- Proof that alignment works. When the cooperative, the service provider, the buying company and the chocolate maker share one goal, the whole value chain benefits.
Looking ahead
This milestone belongs first to the 1,118 women of Assinman, whose work in the field made it possible. It also shows what SafeCrop exists to do: help cocoa producers organise, meet global standards and connect to buyers who value what they grow.
Congratulations to the Assinman Women Co-operative, to Whittaker’s and Federated Commodities, and to the entire SafeCrop team. Here’s to many more partnerships that put women farmers at the centre of sustainable cocoa.
