Afarinick, Meiji deepen partnership to advance sustainable cocoa production
Ghanaian-owned farm and agroforestry restoration company, Afarinick Company Limited (ACL), has partnered with Japan’s Meiji Co. Ltd. to develop a sustainable and circular agroforestry cocoa model in Ghana. The two companies signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) in Accra on Monday, September 14, 2026, as part of activities marking 100 years of Meiji Milk Chocolate […]
Ghanaian agroforestry firm Afarinick Company Limited (ACL) and Japanese conglomerate Meiji Co. Ltd. have joined forces to create a sustainable and circular cocoa model in Ghana. The two entities signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) in Accra on September 14, 2026, coinciding with events celebrating 100 years of Meiji Milk Chocolate and Meiji's long-standing connection with Ghana.
Afarinick's Executive Chairman, Joe Forson, and Meiji's President and Representative Director, Bunjiro Yao, jointly signed the agreement. The partnership aims to develop an agroforestry cocoa farm, with waste management being a crucial element. This model seeks to maximize resource efficiency and promote sustainable cocoa production by integrating cocoa cultivation with agroforestry and waste reuse.
The ceremony, which also featured representatives from the Government of Ghana, the Ghana Cocoa Board, the Embassy of Japan, and other stakeholders, highlighted Afarinick's expertise in farm management, forest restoration, sustainable agriculture, reforestation, and geographic information systems (GIS). Afarinick owns Ghana's largest privately-owned sustainable cocoa plantation, a 2,000-acre commercial farm in the Volta Region.
This farm integrates cocoa with plantain and indigenous trees, employing climate-smart land-management practices.
The collaboration with Meiji will broaden Afarinick's impact within Ghana's cocoa value chain, focusing on generating additional value from waste and other resources on cocoa farms. Together, the companies plan to utilize the proposed farm as a model for merging cocoa production, agroforestry, and circular resource utilization. For Ghana's cocoa industry, this partnership could pave the way for exploring methods to harness farm waste while enhancing the environmental sustainability of cocoa production.
Written by urgent.news from MyJoyOnline Ghana's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
