Twifo Oil Palm Plantation, Ghana, achieves RSPO certification

TOPP, located in the Central Region of Ghana, first became a member of the RSPO in 2014, and is the final implementing company under the Sustainable West African Palm Oil Programme (SWAPP). This four-year programme was launched by Solidaridad in 2012 in response to the rapid development of the palm oil industry in West Africa, and sought to ensure that this palm oil was produced in a way that was socially and environmentally sustainable whilst securing smallholder producers’ access to global supply chains.

“We are extremely grateful for the backing of Unilever, who helped us obtain technical assistance from Proforest and the Solidaridad Network for training, capacity building, and surveillance audits, as well as for the support given to us by Tettey & Associates and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research – Ghana Soil Research Institute”

Kwame Acheampong, TOPP’s sustainability manager

Under the SWAPP programme, Proforest and Solidaridad have been providing ongoing support to TOPP – assisting in the execution of various surveillance and pre-certification audits as well as HCV assessments and social impact assessments. These have permitted TOPP to determine the biological, ecological, social and cultural value of the land to be converted to palm oil plantation, and to improve community relations, creating a more positive and harmonious dynamic between the company and local communities. On top of this, Proforest also helped deliver several training and capacity-building sessions with staff and smallholder groups, ensuring best practices are rolled out across all staff.

TOPP has become the fourth company in Ghana to achieve Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)  certification, following the Benso Oil Palm Plantation (BOPP) and the Ghanaian Oil Palm Development Company (GOPDC) and Norpalm. We are very proud to have been able to provide significant technical support to all four companies on their road to certification, either through the SWAPP programme or via consultancy services.

Ghana is an official member of the TFA 2020 global partnership and a key partner within the Africa Palm Oil Initiative (APOI). The APOI country team  has developed national principles to guide sustainable palm oil production in Ghana and is  working with partners on how to implement their action plans on-the-ground, including recent training activities in partnership with Solidaridad and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.