Ghana’s Ambassador To The United States Visits Cargill Ghana

On Tuesday, January 24, 2023, Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States, H.E. Hajia Alima Mahama, paid a courtesy visit to Cargill’s state-of-the-art cocoa processing facility at the free zones enclave in Tema, accompanied by AmCham Ghana Executive Secretary, Simon Madjie, and the Chief Commercial Officer and Head of the One District One Factory (1D1F) Initiative at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Kofi Addo.

This was part of the Ambassador’s engagement with U.S. companies in Ghana under the auspices of the American Chamber of Commerce, Ghana.

Ambassador Hajia Alima Mahama interacted with the Managing Director of Cargill Ghana, Aedo van der Weij, and other managers to understand the company’s operations and was given a tour of the plant to meet with the various employees as well as have an experience of the different stages of cocoa processing.

Cargill has been sourcing cocoa from Ghana for over 40 years, and in 2008 opened its state-of-the-art cocoa processing facility in Tema, employing around 240 employees processing cocoa products to service food and confectionary customers locally and around the world. Cargill, also through its various activities in the cocoa supply chain, provides about 750 direct jobs, the majority of which are locals.

The Ambassador was impressed by Cargill’s deliberate efforts at employing and empowering locals. She said it is indicative that given the right conditions and resources, Ghana has the human resource to support industries.

In 2016, Cargill added a Licensed Buying Company (LBC) to its Ghanaian footprint. The LBC operations bring innovative ways to trade with farmers directly, emphasizing their sustainability and traceability efforts.

The company has invested over $3.2 million into sustainability programming with partners CARE and the International Cocoa Initiative to address the educational gap in 250 communities in the Western North region of Ghana by providing school buildings.

The Ambassador was also honored to plant a symbolic cocoa tree in the middle of the Cargill garden. A gesture of goodwill and Cargill’s commitment to Ghana’s cocoa sector.

Ghana’s Ambassador To The United States Visits Bunge Loders Croklaan

Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States, H.E. Hajia  Alima Mahama, on Tuesday, January 24, 2023, paid a courtesy visit to the shea processing plant of AmCham Ghana member  Bunge Loders Croklaan, in the company of AmCham Ghana Executive Secretary, Simon Madjie, and the Chief Commercial Officer and Head of the One District One Factory (1D1F) Initiative at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Kofi Addo.

The Ambassador’s visit was to engage with management and acquaint herself with their operations. H.E. Mahama interacted with the General Manager of Bunge Loders Croklaan, Santanu Bhuyan, and other unit managers. She was taken through a presentation outlining Bunge’s operations and their remarkable sustainability efforts at ensuring the well-being of the people and the communities where they source their raw materials.

Ambassador Mahama was also given a tour of Bunge’s ultra-modern shea processing plant, one of the best in the world in terms of efficiency and quality, according to Bunge’s General Manager, Santanu Bhuyan.

Bunge Loders Croklaan has successfully established one of the most reliable sourcing networks over 10 years, with 500,000 thousand women collectors and over 1500 employees servicing 10 factories.

Bunge believes empowering women and future generations creates socio-economic value at the origin, which conserves and protects the shea landscape. The company has helped establish shea cooperatives and has supported them through training, providing equipment to improve their operations, building warehouses, Schools, and granting incentives to encourage best practices.

For almost two centuries, Bunge has expanded its focus, but at heart, it remains a business built on transporting and adding value to agricultural commodities. Bunge Loders Croklaan has worked with customers and partners to develop product innovations and breakthrough systems that have revolutionized the food industry.

H.E. Hajia Alima Mahama was impressed by what the company has achieved and was enthused by Bunge’s deliberate efforts at employing and empowering locals and ensuring gender balance at the processing facility.