Project title: Regenerative Organic Certified Tropical Dried Fruits

Type of project: business implementation, product development

SDG(s) relevant to the project: 2, 6, 12, 13, 15

Topic(s): industrial innovation, energy efficiency, supply chain transparency and traceability, diversity, equity and inclusion, nature-positive approaches and regenerative agriculture.

Product(s): tropical dried fruit

Project end date and duration: ongoing (hopefully for decades)

Abstract: HPW AG produces 3,500 tons of tropical dried fruit per year with its operations in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. The two subsidiaries employ 2,000 people and purchase over 35,000 tons of fresh fruit, mainly from small producers. We provide technical support and pre-financing for agro-inputs to 1,600 small producers.

Both factories are Fairtrade certified. We transform all our fruit waste into energy (electricity from biogas, heat from biomass boilers, compost into organic fertilizer). Water management is in place at both factories as well as the photovoltaic system in Ghana.

We are an important buyer of fresh fruit in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. We are motivated and concerned about improving living conditions in West Africa.

The combination of agroforestry and regenerative agriculture in West Africa aims to achieve ecological, economic, and social benefits by increasing the productivity of the farmland while protecting the environment.

In 2021, we launched the regenerative organic certified (ROC) project, unique to West Africa, with interested mango farmers in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana.

We motivated a group of mango producers in the north of Côte d’Ivoire (COPRACO) to participate in the project, leading them to ROC certification and will continue supporting them in subsequent years. In 2022, we shipped the first 25 tons of ROC-certified dried mango made from 250 tons of fresh fruit to the USA.

The following year, farmers in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire were recruited to combine pineapple cultivation with coconut production. Farmers in Ghana (Sankofa in Edusuazo) and Côte d’Ivoire (UPFLA and COPAFLS in Samo) were recruited to practice this innovative and unique cultivation of pineapple and coconut on the same land under regenerative principles. The first ROC-certified dried pineapple and coconut will be exported to the USA in Q3 2024.

The regenerative cultivation project opens up a new market segment for fresh fruit producers and HPW and, thus, additional volumes. The smallholders’ earnings situation has improved and will continue to improve significantly thanks to a) the higher sales price and b) better productivity (2 crops). New, sustainable, high-yield and stable value chains have been established from farm to consumer.

Impact and Outcomes:

Purchased Fruit from Smallholders:

¹ Sales FOB port of West Africa

Impact on farm level:

• Stable demand as long as ROC certification and fruit specifications are met
• Significantly higher prices per kg including Fairtrade Premium
• Additional income from second product (pineapple, coconut, yams)
• Preservation of the rich, regenerated soils
• Protection against excessive drying out of the soil

Impact on dried fruit production of HPW AG:

• Stable fresh fruit procurement from constantly growing fruit suppliers
• Increase in productivity and utilization of production capacity
• Creation of new qualified and unqualified jobs
• Development of new markets
• Image campaign for the processing of local products in Africa

The project has a significant impact on the nut and dried fruit industry. It generates interest and motivates sustainable actions within the industry. The project is a pioneer in West Africa and can contribute to the initiation of further sustainable agriculture. It also enhances the reputation of African agriculture.