How farmers in Ghana are saving chocolate from climate change

Farmers in Ghana, in Africa have been trying out some new ways to grow cocoa trees to protect them from climate change.

The beans found inside cocoa fruit are used to make lots of things we know and love, like chocolate!

A lot of the cocoa we use is grown in Ghana, however, some farmers there are worried that the amount they've been able to grow has fallen in recent years, in some cases by more than half.

This is because they have been hit by rising temperatures, drought, heavy rains and an increase in pests, due to climate change.

A new project called 'Sankofa' has been trying to help farmers in Ghana's Ahafo region, using traditional growing methods to help fight against the negative effects of climate change.

How does the new project work?

Sankofa means to "go back, look for, and gain wisdom, power and hope" in Ghanaian Akan language.

The project uses a more traditional way of farming, which involves planting the cocoa seedlings under the shade of other fast-growing fruit trees to create a natural 'roof', to protect them from the scorching sun and make a healthy micro-climate.

Crops such as avocado, plantain, oranges, yam, cassava, mucuna beans, tomatoes and chillies are grown in between the lines of cocoa trees, and farmers can then also sell the fruit from those trees to make money.

Other trees are planted so that their branches can be cut and used for natural soil coverings to avoid the need for artificial fertilisers and pesticides.

This way of farming means that there are different plants for pests to feed on and helps to support insects like bees and butterflies, which are needed to pollinate the cocoa.

Cocoa farmer Lucy Twenewaa is drying her beans.

The farming process has been created by Fairtrade Africa, the International Trade Centre (ITC) and Swiss chocolate company Halba.

It is being tried through KKFU, a farming collective which makes 10% of Ghana's cocoa, and there are now almost 400 farmers trying it out.

One of the first farmers to sign up was John Kwabena Narh he said: "When I started off, people thought I was crazy for adopting this approach but now they want to join."

Cocoa farmer John Kwabena Narh is proud of his farm

Deborah Osei-Mensah is a cocoa farmer and is going to COP27 to warn world leaders about the problems that farmers face, and how this could affect the things we eat.

"Everybody is losing, it's not just farmers losing their livelihood, it's the chocolate, the coffee, the fruit, everything you want to take every day, is going, so it is better to save their livelihoods," she said.