More than 100 farmers in Ghana’s Ashanti Region have completed a six-day training programme in cocoa agroforestry and climate-resilient planting techniques, part of a collaborative initiative between the African Afforestation Association (AAA), the Forestry Commission and the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD).
The programme, which ran from 27 April to 2 May 2026 at Bekwoie in the Ashanti Region, introduced participants to the Groasis Waterboxx Method, a Dutch water-saving technology developed to grow trees in dry conditions with minimal irrigation. The technology uses a self-filling container that harvests rainwater and condensation to slowly release moisture to young plants over an extended period, reducing dependence on rainfall and lowering the cost of tree establishment. Participants also received instruction on carbon credit and climate project opportunities, equipping them to explore income streams beyond conventional cocoa production.
The programme coincided with a visit to Ghana by Wout Hoff, Chief Executive of Groasis, and his delegation from the Netherlands. Hoff’s team made formal presentations of the Groasis Scientific Method of Planting to COCOBOD on 29 April and to the Forestry Commission on 30 April, seeking to deepen institutional understanding of the technology ahead of wider deployment.
The AAA was founded by Light Kwametse Aboetaka and focuses on climate change mitigation and poverty alleviation through tree planting across Africa, with a specific emphasis on restoring forest cover through the cultivation of fruit and other economically productive species alongside traditional crops.
Nana Kumasah Krampah II, Omankrado of Gomoa Asempanyin and a board member of the AAA, called on farmers to embrace evolving scientific methods. He said farming is now advancing with scientific methods being implemented across the world and urged all agricultural practitioners to use such opportunities to enhance their activities.
The initiative forms part of a broader effort to arrest deforestation in Ghana’s cocoa belt, where decades of monoculture farming and illegal logging have significantly reduced forest cover. By training farmers in agroforestry techniques that integrate trees with food crops, the programme aims to rebuild canopy cover while maintaining or improving farm productivity.
