gebana Togo
We work with cocoa farmers and source pineapple for wholesale customers. By promoting agroforestry and good farming practices, we help strengthen and protect local family farming.
PRODUCTS: Cocoa, dried pineapple
LOCATION: Lomé, Togo
COLLABORATION: since 2000
SUBSIDIARY: since 2013
EMPLOYEES: 89
ORGANIC FARMING AREA: 2'766 ha
We know the producers
Around 17 gebana field agents regularly visit them, maintaining close contact throughout the year. They act as advisors on farming questions and provide training in agricultural practices
More money for the farmers
Since 2020, producers have received 10 % of the turnover from their products sold in our B2C online shop. Combined with Fairtrade premiums, this amounted to a total of EUR 147’736 in 2024 for the 1620 family farmers who grow cocoa for us.
Farming beyond organic
We have launched a pilot project to give family farmers better access to organic pesticides, compost and tools. We are focusing on agroforestry to improve biodiversity and boost harvests and therefore the farmers' income. By 2025, we have converted more than 150 cocoa plots to dynamic agroforestry and planted 335'459 seedlings with the family farmers.
Jobs that provide income and security
All our employees are covered by social insurance. They benefit from subsidies for telephone costs, accommodation, transport and maternity leave. In 2024, we raised the lowest monthly salaries from 138 % to 140 % compared with the national minimum wage (EUR 80).
Measure against child labour
We run an awareness-raising campaign together with a local NGO to encourage producers to send their children to school on a regular basis. We also conduct surveys on schooling attendance and child labour risk in cocoa production.
We want to process locally
In order to create greater value at the source, we are planning to process our cocoa in Togo directly into chocolate, cocoa mass, cocoa butter and cocoa powder. We’ve developed a business plan and launched a crowdfunding that you can support on our platform.
Deforestation free
Our cocoa supply chain is fully traceable and verified as deforestation-free. All purchases from farmers are recorded in our internal database, where every cocoa plot is individually registered. This allows us to trace each delivery back to its origin and assess whether any plot may be exposed to deforestation risks.
AFI REBECCA ELEBLU
FARMER FROM ATIKOUTONYI, TOGO
The most fascinating thing about cocoa is seeing the seeds germinate.
Afi Rebecca Eleblu lives in Atikoutonyi, right next to the school. "It's very convenient because I have five children. Three of them are in school, and the other two are doing an apprenticeship." Eleblu grows cocoa for gebana on her 3 hectares of land. She also cultivates beans, plantains, ginger and corn. "They're for the local market. I have a passion for trade, and selling my products is what I like most about my job as a farmer. On the other hand, the lack of control over water causes us problems. We are afraid of droughts."
Cocoa
We source our certified cocoa through our subsidiary company gebana Togo from the Plateaux region around the cities Kpalimé and Badou in Southern Togo. We can offer both organic certified cocoa beans as well as conversion cocoa beans from farmers not yet certified organic.
Pineapple
We source our certified organic dried pineapple through our subsidiary on site, gebana Togo. Family farmers grow the fruit, which is then processed locally at HACCP-certified facilities.