PDA has a proven track record of partnering with communities and other development organizations to implement large-scale development interventions in promoting ethical and transparent commodity supply chains and communities over the last 21 years.
The team is made up of experienced community facilitators, child labor and protection experts, field trainers, evaluators, and associates with several years of practice in the field. Through community mobilization, sensitization and facilitation, as well as project management, smallholder farmer capacity building and financial inclusion, our impact has reached across many communities in Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire particularly.
PDA adopts a unique integrated VSLA (VSLA+) model as a self-facilitated platform to plug in sustainable development interventions. Our diverse and customizable VSLA+ modules and components allow for specific interventions to be co-designed with our partners for the greatest impact in target communities.
1. Nestle Income Accelerator Programme (IAP) [Cote D’Ivoire]
The Nestlé Income Accelerator Program (IAP) aims to improve the livelihoods of cocoa-farming families, while advancing regenerative agriculture practices.
PDA, in partnership with Beyond Beans, formed 77 VSLA groups under the project in Ivory Coast. 7 PDA field officers worked on the project.
Between January to March 2024, 17 of the VSLA groups had their share outs and completed Gender Action Learning Systems (GALS) training for their members. This training employs participatory techniques to sensitize participants on gender issues and increase their financial literacy, among other benefits.
Scale-Up for Greater Impact
Based on the success of the programme, a scale-up of the project has been commissioned by Beyond Beans (Cote d’Ivoire) for the formation of 103 VSLA groups. 13 PDA field officers have been recruited to work on the project. A training session for field officers, and the engagement of representatives from Beyond Beans, executives of Cooperatives, and beneficiary communities will begin in April.
2. Nestle Income Accelerator Programme (IAP) [Ghana]
In Ghana, the programme still has the overall goal of improving the livelihoods of cocoa-farming families, while advancing regenerative agriculture practices. Specifically, however, there are four pillars (the promotion of school enrolment; pruning; agroforestry; and income diversification). PDA is engaged for the pillar of income diversification, through the formation of VSLA groups for selected program beneficiaries and the restructuring of existing VSLA groups which have IAP beneficiaries.
7 PDA field officers were trained for the project in March. Currently, project communities have been sensitized, and field officers have begun engaging interested project beneficiaries for the formation and restructuring of VSLA groups.
3. SUCDEN VSLA Programme
The Women’s Empowerment, Access to Finance and Income Generation in Ghana project is aimed at addressing the primary challenges facing the cocoa sector in Ghana including low income, low productivity, lack of access to financial services and low financial literacy — which are all some of the root causes of child labour. The primary target of the project is women in the cocoa-growing communities from which SUCDEN sources cocoa.
The main objectives of the project include:
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- Improving access to finance through the establishment of VSLAs
- Strengthening gender relations in communities at the household level through joint financial planning, as well as at the community level through increased participation in governance structures
- Improving women’s earning capacity in cocoa communities to boost household income.
- Improving the nutrition of households in target communities
- Contributing to a holistic improvement of the welfare of farming households in order to safeguard against potential child labour infractions.
The project is being implemented in Akontombra, Fosukrom and Adabokrom cocoa districts in the Western North region of Ghana in partnership with Sucden and Kuapa Kokoo Farmers’ Union (KKFU).
9 VSLA groups have been formed under the project, meeting weekly to save, grant loans, and conduct Gender Action Learning Systems (GALS) training for their members. GALS Champions were trained in March.
2 PDA officers are working on the programme.
4. Enroute Project (Cote D’Ivoire)
The Enroute Project seeks to identify the most cost-effective ways to support farmers to earn a living income. The project is testing three interventions:
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- Cash transfer only
- Cash transfer and services
- Only services
Under these three interventions, PDA is working with selected household members from the cash transfer only group, to train them on a series of sessions dubbed Empowering Better Decisions. PDA is also implementing the VSLA-CHILD methodology for the remaining two groups of intervention areas.
25 VSLA-CHILD groups and 14 Empowering Better Decisions (EBD) groups have been formed under the project. 2 PDA field officers are working on the project.
Empowering Better Decisions (EBD) is a methodology which was co-created by PDA and Beyond Beans to enable farmers to plan through cooperation for improved living conditions for the household. It is made up of four carefully selected Participatory Action Learning (PAL) modules and is expected to cause immediate and long-term change in the mindset of the participants.
VSLA-CHILD is a child labour remediation initiative that aims to tackle child labour in cocoa-producing communities through a community-driven approach. It also seeks to increase farmers’ access to microcredit, improve their savings culture and income diversity, as well as increase their gender awareness and sensitivity. The methodology builds on the Village Savings and Loans Associations and Gender Action Learning System (VSLA-GALS) approach, an initiative that employs participatory techniques to sensitize participants on gender issues and to increase their financial literacy, among others. The VSLA-CHILD methodology integrates a child labour remediation component into the VSLA-GALS approach and adopts participatory techniques in sensitising farmers on child labour issues.
Currently, the VSLA groups have continued with weekly meetings to save and repay loans while progressing through the GALS and child labour trainings. The groups have had their share outs in the first week of April.
5. ECOM/NCP VSLA-GALS Programme
The ECOM/NCP VSLA-GALS project is a financial inclusion and gender empowerment project which is aimed at building the economic and social capacities of cocoa farmers in selected communities in the Eastern and Central Region of Ghana through Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA) groups. The project is being implemented by Participatory Development Associates (PDA) in partnership with Nestle Cocoa Plan (NCP) and ECOM.
40 VSLAs are being run under this project, with 4 PDA field officers assigned to the project.
The project methodology incorporated Gender Action Learning Systems (GALS) into VSLAs with the overall objective to improve savings culture, access to micro-credit, improve income, wellbeing and gender justice in household decision making.
Between January and March 2024, the VSLA groups stopped granting loans and focused on loan repayments to ensure that all loans are repaid by the time of the groups’ share out. By the end of March, all 40 groups had their share outs.
There were also some visitations by partners to two communities each in the four project districts (Suhum, Asamankese, Breman Asikuma and Akim Oda). The groups will be handed over to ECOM after they start their second cycle.
6. New ECOM VSLA GALS Project
The VSLA-GALS project is a financial inclusion and gender empowerment project which is aimed at building the economic and social capacities of cocoa farmers in selected communities in the Eastern, Central, Ashanti, Western North and Oti Region of Ghana through Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA) groups. The project is being implemented by Participatory Development Associates (PDA) in partnership with Lindt & Sprüngli Farming Program and ECOM.
The project methodology incorporates Gender Action Learning Systems (GALS) into VSLAs with the overall objective to improve savings culture, access to micro-credit, improve income, wellbeing and gender justice in household decision making. The project districts are Ofoase and Abenase in the Eastern Region, Dunkwa in the Central Region, Asankaragua in the Western North Region, Offinso in the Ashanti Region and Papase in Oti Region.
49 VSLA groups have been formed under the project. 4 GALS Champions training sessions were organized for 2 representatives from each of the VSLA groups. These groups meet weekly to save, grant loans, repay their loans and do their GALS training.
4 PDA field officers are working on the project.