Behind every bar of chocolate is the work of millions of smallholder cocoa farmers—many of whom are performing intricate, labour-intensive tasks with blurry vision. For VisionSpring Senior Advisor Ramona Bajema, this isn’t just a health issue, it’s a critical factor in productivity, compliance, and livelihoods. As global supply chains develop and new regulations demand greater traceability and documentation, clear sight becomes a necessity. In this conversation, Bajema shares how VisionSpring is working to equip cocoa farmers in Ghana and beyond with the vision tools they need to thrive in a changing world, and we also speak directly to a farmer about their experience with VisionSpring:
What inspired VisionSpring to focus on vision correction for cocoa farmers, and what makes this issue so critical?
VisionSpring Senior Advisor, Ramona Bajema: Clear vision is essential for all agricultural workers, but it is especially important for cocoa farmers. In cocoa cultivation, hand-pollination is a vital process to increase yields, but it’s impossible to do if you can’t see clearly.
Sorting cocoa beans, weighing them, and packaging them all require precise vision. Without clear sight, farmers are unable to properly manage these critical tasks, which impacts both their productivity and their livelihoods.
This led us to launch Livelihoods in Focus in 2022 – a campaign to screen and correct the vision of more than 8 million tea, coffee, cocoa and artisan workers and unlock $1 billion in extra earnings for workers and their families.
More recently, with the new EU regulations (EUDR) pushing for deforestation-free cocoa and increasing demands for traceability, farmers need to be able to meet stricter documentation and reporting requirements. This includes supplying land ownership documents, maps, and GPS data; tracking harvests, inputs, and sales; and leveraging digital tools for land use mapping and monitoring. However, for many smallholder farmers—particularly those who’ve never had access to vision care—simply reading and completing these records can pose a significant challenge.
These requirements are being introduced to ensure that cocoa is grown without contributing to deforestation and that every bean can be traced back to its source. Cocoa farmers everywhere must comply with these requirements, but without clear vision, it becomes difficult to manage and report the necessary data.
The EU’s traceability systems are still being developed, and misalignment between local systems and EU standards creates further challenges for farmers. Without eyeglasses, farmers can struggle to participate in these systems, which are now essential for maintaining market access and ensuring sustainable practices.
Can you elaborate on how poor vision affects productivity and financial stability in agricultural communities?
RB: Blurry vision makes it difficult for farmers to perform essential tasks. For example, hand-pollinating cocoa flowers. Since only 10% of cocoa flowers are naturally pollinated, hand-pollination is crucial for a farmer to boost their yields. So, clear vision will be necessary for the production of cocoa beans, but now new regulations will require that farmers must participate in the traceability process. How can you record GPS coordinates without clear vision? I certainly can’t.
Our research shows that providing eyeglasses can significantly improve both productivity and income. With Queen’s University Belfast and BRAC, we conducted a randomised controlled trial that demonstrated eyeglasses increased the average median income of low-income communities by 33.4%. This means instead of $10, someone will bring home $13.34.
What have been the biggest challenges in bringing vision screenings and eyeglasses to cocoa farmers in Ghana
RB: Many farmers have never had an eye exam or had access to affordable glasses. For many, blurry vision has been a long-standing issue, and while they do know their eyesight is declining, especially with age, they often have no way of getting glasses. They may have to rely on younger workers or hire help for tasks they can no longer see well enough to do themselves. Eyeglasses are too expensive or only available hours away. VisionSpring is solving this by going to the farmers, bringing affordable glasses and trained teams directly into their communities.
Reaching farmers in rural parts of Ghana, for example, is difficult as many people are hard to access, and it is trickier from a logistical perspective to coordinate screenings and the distribution of eyeglasses. With transportation often limited, we have to work very closely with local partners and communities to ensure that our efforts are as effective as possible. It’s a challenge, but it’s incredibly rewarding to see the difference these screenings and glasses can make to people’s lives.
Given the 200% surge in cocoa prices, how does improving farmers’ vision contribute to stabilizing supply chains and supporting the industry?
RB: Cocoa farmers are essential to global supply chains, and their productivity directly impacts cocoa yields. Poor vision limits their abilities, but it doesn’t have to. A simple pair of eyeglasses helps farmers perform tasks more effectively, leading to higher yields and more stable harvests.
Vision correction doesn’t just help farmers produce more cocoa, it also improves their financial stability. Corrected vision also helps farmers participate in efforts to trace the source of their cocoa to help suppliers meet regulatory requirements. Many well-meaning brands are investing in programs to support farmers such as financial literacy programs, even training on Excel. However, eyeglasses are an essential tool for making those programs successful. I certainly can’t add data to a spreadsheet without eyeglasses. How could a cocoa farmer?
When farmers can see clearly, they are better equipped to manage their farms and maximise their income as well.
What are VisionSpring’s next steps in scaling this initiative, and how can governments, businesses, or NGOs get involved?
RB: To date, we have screened more than 47,000 cocoa farmers and their families across Ghana.
We encourage partners across the public and private sectors to join us in this mission. By investing in eyeglasses and supporting vision care, we can provide farmers with a simple yet powerful tool that boosts productivity, earnings, and economic growth in farming communities. For brands that are investing in important social impact programs to support farmers and their communities, providing eyeglasses will make those programs even more successful. A financial literacy program will simply not succeed if participants cannot see clearly. We’ve seen that time and time again with corporate partners in other programs.
To support more farmers, we plan to expand our reach even further, providing vision screenings and eyeglasses to more farmers across Ghana and eventually the Ivory Coast given the needs there.
We are always keen to partner with businesses, governments and other non-government organisations, and we encourage them to get in touch with VisionSpring to partner with us to bring vision camps to cocoa communities and to help raise awareness of this important issue!
Now, we speak to Juliet Owusu Addai, a cocoa farmer who has benefited from better sight:
How did blurry vision impact your ability to farm and manage your cocoa business before receiving eyeglasses?
Juliet Owusu Addai: It was difficult to work around my farm, to do the pollination, the pruning and the weeding. My blurry vision caused headaches and dizziness, which limited my ability to work on my farm and earn money.
What challenges did you face in tasks like identifying pests, handling mobile payments, or reading fertilizer labels due to poor eyesight?
JOA: With blurry vision, I couldn’t do many things properly on my farm. Hand-pollinating cocoa flowers, moving one grain of pollen to a tiny flower using tweezers, just wasn’t possible. I couldn’t see well enough to do it.
Sorting cocoa beans was also hard. I had trouble picking out the bad ones that buyers wouldn’t accept. Even using my cell phone to make or get paid was difficult because I couldn’t see the screen clearly.
Since receiving eyeglasses, what specific changes have you noticed in your productivity, income, or daily life?
JOA: After I got my eyeglasses from VisionSpring in 2022, everything changed. Before, I could only harvest around eight to nine sacks of cocoa a year. Now, I get up to 12 sacks. This extra money helps me take care of my family, helping me send my children to school.
Can you share a personal story about a moment when clear vision made a significant difference in your work?
JOA: The first time I was able to clearly see the flowers I was pollinating after getting my glasses was a huge turning point. I could finally complete my work properly, without relying on someone else to help.
What was your reaction when you first put on the glasses and saw clearly? How has it affected your confidence and outlook on the future?
JOA: The moment I put on the glasses, I was amazed by how sharp everything looked. The dizziness and headaches were gone, and for the first time, I could work without any strain.
This helped bring back my confidence, and now I feel like I can take care of my family, and manage my farm.
What message would you like to share with other farmers who might be struggling with blurry vision but haven’t yet sought help?
JOA: I want to say, don’t let fear or myths hold you back. I was once told that wearing glasses would make my eyesight worse, but this wasn’t true at all, and I regret not getting my vision screened and getting glasses earlier.
Editorial contact:
Editor: Kiran Grewal kgrewal@kennedys.co.uk
