+ A major €2.3 million initiative between public sector, private sector and civil groups is being launched into key aspects of sustainability surrounding Ghana’s cocoa industry, in a bid to ensure its future viability reports Neill Barston. The Accessible Soils And Sustainable Environments (ASASE) project will work towards key environmental goals including tackling deforestation, as well as seeking to revitalise ageing cocoa farms, as well as restoring forested areas that have been notably impacted. As the combined group behind the venture explained to Confectionery Production, ASASE, which means “land” in the local Ghanaian language Twi, the scheme has been co-funded by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) as part of the Sustainable Development Goals Partnership (SDGP), a set of targets adopted by all UN member states established in 2015 to address global poverty and protect the planet.