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The Dutch Embassy in Ghana, in partnership with six private cocoa License Buying Companies (LBCs) in Ghana, is supporting cocoa farmers with �14 million to boost the production of the cash crop. Beginning with three cocoa-growing constituencies; namely Twifo-Praso, Bibiani and Sefwi-Wiawso, the programme, dubbed Ghana Cocoa Rehabilitation and Intensification Programme (CORIP), is expected to be extended to other cocoa-growing communities in the country after its first term. Besides addressing the institutional challenges of the cocoa supply chain in finding efficient ways of providing support services to the farmers, CORIP aims to develop the economic, social and environmental sustainability of cocoa farming in the country. The six private cocoa buying companies are Cargill, Armajaro, Touton, ADM, OLAM and Mondelez, with Solidaridad West Africa managing the entire programme for the two partners. Other collaborating partners include the International Fertiliser Development Centre (IFDC), Ghana Cocoa Board and Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana, and the Dutch Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH). Speaking at the official launch of CORIP at Cargill at the Tema Free Zones enclave, Ms Lilianne Ploumen, the Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Co-operation, said the main strategy for implementing the programme would be through the establishment and operation of cocoa Rural Service Centres (RSC) across the cocoa belts. The RSC, the Netherlands Minister said, would be a privately operated and commercially run centre providing and facilitating access to farmers to good agronomic practices training, information, technology use, fertilisers, credit and other inputs plus technical support necessary for the intensification of cocoa production systems. She said a total of 20 RSCs will be established under CORIP over the next four years, adding that each CORIP is expected to cater for 2,000 farmers; therefore 40,000 direct beneficiaries are expected to be impacted upon by the programme. Ms Lilianne Ploumen, the Dutch Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Co-operation, who officially launched the CORIP, said the Netherlands aims at bringing together all those on the cocoa value chain to work at finding solutions to common problems to make the industry more sustainable. Observing how important cocoa is as the single most important agricultural commodity for Ghana, Ms Lilianne Ploumen said �it is anticipated that the RSCs would help improve cocoa yields in Ghana from an average of between 400kg and 450kg to 1,000kg per hectare.� For his part, Mr Isaac Gyamfi Ampem, Chief Executive of Solidaridad, explained that the six private partners would provide �7 million while the Dutch Embassy would provide �7 million.