Promoting communal savings

The Kokoo Pa Farmers Association (formerly known as the Ahafo Ano North and South UTZ Cocoa Farmers Association, or AHANSUCOFA) was formed in 2009 by cocoa farmers from ten communities in the Ahafo Ano North and Ahafo Ano South districts of the Ashanti region in Ghana.

The association now supports over 11,000 smallholder farmers – 7,700 men and 3,300 women – across seven districts in the Ashanti, Brong Ahafo and Western regions, and is a member of the Ghana Federation of Forest and Farm Producers (GhaFFaP).

Despite this growth, members long faced deep vulnerabilities – from health emergencies and poverty to child labour – with social protection limited to informal, undocumented community goodwill. With support from the Forest and Farm Facility (FFF), Kokoo Pa has transformed that fragmented goodwill into structured, inclusive safety nets linked to national programmes.

Forest and Farm Facility activities

FFF supported Kokoo Pa to promote women's financial inclusion and entrepreneurship through training in livelihood ventures – including soap-making from cocoa byproducts – and establishing village savings and loans associations (VSLAs) across member communities.

The VSLA initiative grew to encompass nearly 6,000 members across 256 groups in 145 communities, with over 4.98 million Ghanaian cedis (around US$428,000) mobilised to support farmers’ activities. Each group maintains a social fund providing emergency assistance and reinforcing community solidarity, with women making up most participants.

Working alongside GhaFFaP and government institutions – including the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), the Department of Social Welfare and the Department of Community Development – Kokoo Pa has contributed to broader federation-wide gains in social protection.

Across GhaFFaP’s member organisations, FFF-supported efforts resulted in:

•    5,500 new NHIS registrations
•    2,200 members enrolled onto the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme, and 
•    1,500 members accessing agricultural inputs through the Planting for Food and Jobs initiative.

LEAP beneficiaries have used cash transfers to invest in vegetable production and livestock, directly strengthening household food security.

A further significant FFF-supported intervention has been Kokoo Pa’s capacity-building programme on child abuse and child labour, equipping members with the tools to identify, report and respond to child protection cases within their communities.

Significance of impact

Health insurance has reduced the financial shock of illness, while LEAP transfers have enabled productive investment rather than mere survival.

Women have gained confidence as financial decision makers and community leaders, with 85% of VSLA membership being women. Child protection training has created safer environments for children across member communities, addressing one of the most entrenched challenges in agricultural households.

Conclusion

With FFF’s support, Kokoo Pa has moved from informal assistance to government-linked safety nets rooted in community ownership.

This is building lasting resilience and dignity for rural farming households across Ghana well beyond the life of the programme.