From Cocoa Fields to Policy Desks: Hilda Obeng’s Crusade for Climate Justice in Ghana

On the red-earth roads of Ghana’s cocoa belt, where the air carries both the promise of harvest and the anxiety of unseasonal rains, a quiet revolution is underway. At the helm of this movement is Hilda Obeng, a sustainability officer, grassroots mobilizer, and changemaker who believes that climate action should not be top-down, but deeply rooted in the voices of those tilling the land.

Hilda Obeng

Hilda’s story doesn’t begin in the corridors of policy think tanks or in front of global podiums. It begins with despondency, a silent epidemic she witnessed too often in the eyes of women and children living on the margins. “It was the helplessness,” she says, “that got to me. I couldn’t sit back knowing that so many lacked not just resources, but dignity and recognition.”

A decade later, Hilda stands as a fierce advocate for inclusive sustainability, working with over 500 farmer groups through the GREPP and VSLA projects. Her work has gone beyond capacity-building, it has helped reshape how sustainability is understood in Ghana’s cocoa sector. Farmers are no longer seen as passive beneficiaries of aid but as central agents of change. Her initiatives have uplifted entire communities by not just increasing productivity and livelihoods, but by making space for conversations around diversity, fairness, and inclusion, especially for women.

Yet, as the climate crisis deepens, Hilda realized that even the most resilient communities need more than just tools, they need representation. So she envisioned something bold, something beautifully simple: “From Field to Policy Desk” – a Farmer Data Dashboard.

This upcoming digital platform will collect real-time, farmer-reported data on rainfall patterns, yield disruptions, and climate anomalies using mobile tools operated by trained youth ambassadors. The goal is audacious: to put lived farmer data in the hands of local government and extension officers, ensuring that policy is not only people-centered but evidence-driven.

“We can’t keep talking about climate-smart agriculture without making farmers part of the intelligence loop,” Hilda says. “This dashboard changes that.”

But she’s not stopping there. Recognizing the power of regional solidarity, she’s building the Youth Policy Exchange Circle, a virtual think space connecting young agripreneurs and climate activists across West Africa. Together, they’ll co-develop policy briefs, share innovations, and learn from the wisdom of retired policymakers and academic mentors.

These dual initiatives, rooted in data and dialogue are more than projects. They are blueprints for democratic climate resilience, designed by someone who has walked hand-in-hand with farmers for years.

A Changemaker in the Global Spotlight

Hilda’s visionary work recently earned her a coveted place in the United People Global (UPG) Sustainability Leadership Program, a prestigious international platform that grooms sustainability champions from across the globe. The program offers exactly what she seeks, policy training, global exposure, and the opportunity to sharpen her voice in international development arenas.

“UPG has broadened my scope of what is possible. It’s a community of doers. Being among such dynamic young leaders has made me even more determined to scale these initiatives beyond Ghana,” she says.

UPG’s ethos, “empowering people to make the world a better place” aligns perfectly with Hilda’s mission. She embodies what it means to be a UPG Sustainability Leader: acting locally, thinking globally, and bringing others along on the journey.

Planting Seeds of Equity

In a world where climate action can feel dominated by jargon and geopolitical posturing, Hilda Obeng reminds us that real change often sprouts in quiet ways, through village meetings under mango trees, through dashboards that speak farmer truths, and through circles where young people imagine policy futures together.

Her story is not just about cocoa or Ghana. It’s about reimagining development itself. And if her journey tells us anything, it’s this: when sustainability is powered by inclusion, compassion, and data, the harvest is a future worth fighting for.