Acumen 131d ago

Kwabena Mends, the founder of EMFED FarmS shares why he chose to return to his community and transform cocoa farming instead of pursuing a city career. EMFED provides full-service farm management for smallholder cocoa farmers, handling weeding, pruning, spraying, harvesting, and post-harvest processing, then sharing the proceeds with farmers to increase their income. Coming from a farming family that struggled for years, he faced resistance when he decided to apply university-learned innovations back home. The first few years were difficult, with little revenue and growing doubt. But his belief in improving livelihoods for smallholder farmers kept him going. In an industry dominated by multinational giants, EMFED Farms works to ensure farmers benefit more from their sweat—building a model that prioritizes fair income, sustainability, and long-term opportunity. 👉 Subscribe for more stories from Acumen Fellows 👉 Learn more about Acumen Academy: https://acumenacademy.org 👉 Learn more about Acumen: https://acumen.org