Was it produced legally? Due diligence on legal compliance  Ghana

The document examines the legal framework governing cocoa production in Ghana to guide EU companies in conducting due diligence under the EUDR. It highlights a pluralist legal system where statutory law overlaps with unwritten customary law, particularly regarding land tenure. Key risks identified include the encroachment of cocoa farms into forest reserves, the use of unregistered pesticides, and the prevalence of child labour. The report notes that while the trade and export of cocoa are well-regulated by the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), production remains largely informal, making traceability to the farm of origin difficult. It recommends that companies consult local experts and stakeholders rather than relying solely on official records to verify legal compliance.

• Ghana's legal system is pluralist, meaning that assessing the legality of cocoa requires reviewing both statutory laws and local customary laws, the latter of which are generally unwritten and govern land ownership and contractual relationships.
• There is a significant risk of illegal cocoa production in forest reserves; while 'admitted farms' (those existing before the reserve was established) are legal, the Forestry Commission reports that most have expanded their boundaries by 70% to 400%.

APA

Rice, M., & Godts, R. (2025). Was it produced legally? Due diligence on legal compliance  Ghana. ClientEarth. https://www.clientearth.org/media/kmmazvs2/was-it-produced-legally_ghana_clientearth_april-2025.pdf

Chicago

Rice, Michael, and Raphalle Godts. Was it produced legally? Due diligence on legal compliance  Ghana. ClientEarth, 2025. https://www.clientearth.org/media/kmmazvs2/was-it-produced-legally_ghana_clientearth_april-2025.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Rice |first1=Michael |last2=Godts |first2=Raphalle |title=Was it produced legally? Due diligence on legal compliance  Ghana |publisher=ClientEarth |date=April 2025 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/kmmazvs2/was-it-produced-legally_ghana_clientearth_april-2025.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rice2025was, author = {Rice, Michael and Godts, Raphalle}, title = {{Was it produced legally? Due diligence on legal compliance  Ghana}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2025}, month = apr, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/kmmazvs2/was-it-produced-legally_ghana_clientearth_april-2025.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }