The Tropical Almond Agroforestry Project (TAAP), centred around the outgrower scheme, is a fundamental aspect of Talmond's business model, emphasising collaboration and inclusion for greater impact.
Through this scheme, we engage through Talmond's Extension Services Team in a cost-benefit sharing arrangement with smallholder farmers across Ghana, aiming to enhance agricultural productivity and income generation.
For the pilot onboarding phase which began in June 2023, the Volta and Eastern Regions were chosen, with the Volta region showing particularly strong receptiveness. In the Volta region, 263 farmers from 12 communities across 3 districts were onboarded during the program's initial phase. In the Eastern Region, the first onboarding phase was completed after enrolling 29 farmers from 2 communities. The upcoming onboarding season in 2024 will focus more on the Eastern Region.
To complement these efforts, Talmond has partnered with the Sankofa Project supported by HALBA to introduce tropical almonds as part of Dynamic Agroforestry (DAF) in three districts in the Ahafo region. This partnership involves 200 farmers from the Kuapa Kokoo cooperative across 40 communities, who will plant 10,140 seedlings of tropical almonds within 97.5 hectares of cocoa farms alongside other tree and food crops. Talmond's commitment to purchasing the nuts ensures that the introduction of tropical almonds serves as an additional income source for cocoa farmers in the Ahafo region.
Overall, the outgrower scheme aims to plant 45,000 seedlings of tropical almonds during the 2024 planting seasons, covering 366 ha of farmland. This initiative is projected to yield around 1,300 tons of nuts by 2027, further contributing to the economic empowerment of smallholder farmers involved in the program.
