Cadbury Funds Cocoa Farming Project In Ghana

January 30, 2008 7:19 p.m. EST

Accra, Ghana (AHN) - British confectionery and beverage conglomerate Cadbury Schweppes plc is investing $2 million this year and up to $10 million by 2010 in a cocoa-farming project of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Ghana.

The money will be used to increase the yield of cocoa farmers in the African country, which supplies the beans for Cadbury's chocolate products in the United Kingdom. The current cocoa yields in Ghana is only 40 percent.

Part of the annual investment will also be used to find new sources of income through microfinance and other forms of business support, while some funds will be spent on building or improving infrastructure, including schools, libraries, water wells and biodiversity protection projects.

The UNDP and other U.N. agencies in Ghana will work with local farmers, non-governmental organizations and government officials to determine how best to spend the funds.