ofi to launch first cocoa biochar project with LOTTE, Fuji Oil Co, and MC Agri Alliance
- Biochar is a regenerative farming practice that locks up carbon removed from the atmosphere into soils, contributing to improved soil health and reducing the carbon footprint of cocoa.
- The partnership aims to implement the cocoa biochar project in the 2024/25 crop season.
- This is the latest circular biomass initiative from ofi, aligned with its Cocoa Compass ambition, and complements the installation of biomass boilers in many of its cocoa factories, most recently in Mannheim, Germany.
ofi (olam food ingredients), a leading supplier of naturally good food and beverage ingredients, in collaboration with LOTTE, Fuji Oil, and MC Agri Alliance, is launching its first cocoa biochar pilot in Dankwa County in the Central Province of Ghana.
The circular biomass initiative will turn discarded cocoa pod husks into biochar through combustion in biochar cone machines. Biochar will lock in the carbon from the cocoa crop residues, which would otherwise be released back into the atmosphere by decomposition and should also benefit the soil where the cocoa is grown. Applying biochar on cocoa farms can help improve soil fertility and structure, to help stop erosion and the loss of soil nutrients into ground and surface waters.
