For Validation Partners

The largest occupational neurology trial in clinical medicine.

Testing whether the protocol that protected Ghanaian farming families for a decade produces the same outcomes worldwide.
Become a Study Site
Download Protocol (PDF)
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Participants (P1+P2)
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Global Study Advisory Council

Occupational Medicine Physician
Neurologist

Neurotoxicologis

Corporate Sustainability Leader
Farmer

Occupational Medicine Physician
Neurologist

Neurotoxicologis

Corporate Sustainability Leader
Farmer

  • About the Study

A hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial across four continents.

This protocol is proven in Ghana. But strong evidence from one geography isn’t enough. The FARMERBRAIN Global Study tests whether the regimens work in new geographies, with new crops, and with new delivery pathways beyond schools.
Phase 1 validates the instruments and feasibility. Phase 2 deploys the full system across 25 PI-led sites with 8000 farmers globally.
  • Study Design

Built to prove what works — and where it works.

Hybrid Type 2

Tests clinical effectiveness and implementation quality simultaneously — avoiding years of sequential studies.



Cluster Randomized

Sites randomized 1:1 to intervention or waitlist control. Control sites receive the protocol after 12 months — no community is permanently denied care.

Biomarker Confirmed

Primary endpoint is cholinesterase activity — a biological measurement, not self-reported outcomes.

Multi-Site, Multi-Crop

Cocoa, coffee, cotton, corn, soybeans, oilseed, palm oil, orchards — proving effectiveness isn't crop-specific or geography-dependent.

  • Study Progression

From proof of concept to global validation.

Complete — 10 Years
Proof of Concept
Ghana's cocoa belt. 8 communities. 35,000+ farming family members. 98% adherence. Self-sustaining by Year 5.
P1
Now Enrolling — 12 Months
Phase 1: Validation
Validate instruments across 4 countries. 1,000 participants. Confirm Site PI model feasibility. Gate criteria for Phase 2.
P2
Upcoming — 4 Years
Phase 2: Implementation
25 PI-led sites. 8,000 participants. Full cluster RCT across geographies, crop systems, and delivery channels.
  • Principal Investigators

Who is leading the study.

Study PI · FarmerHealth

Dr. Shadrack Frimpong

Founder & Executive Chairman, FarmerHealth. Grew up to cocoa farming parents in rural Ghana. Designed, deployed, and validated the four-regimen protocol across 8 communities and 35,000+ farming family members over 10 years. Yale School of Medicine.ersity of Cambridge logo | University of Ghana logo
Co-PI · Harvard / ICCR

Dr. Carla D. Martin

Founder & Board President, Institute for Cacao and Chocolate Research, Harvard University. Research and training across 50 countries in cocoa-chocolate value chain ethics and farmer welfare.

  • Study Sites

Where the study is running.

  • West Africa
Ghana's Cocoa Belt
8 communities · 152 schools · 10-year longitudinal data
  • U.S. Northeast
Connecticut River Valley
17,600 farmworker families · 17 sites · Tobacco, orchard, nursery
  • Future
Additional study sites
Central & Latin America · South Asia · Caribbean · East Africa
Schools enrolled
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These farming-related diseases killed my family. They nearly killed me, too. And for 10 years, I've seen them steal kids' brains. Enough.

Dr. Shadrack Frimpong
Founder and Chief Clinical Officer, FarmerHealth by Cocoa360
  • FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

For location partners interested in joining the FARMERBRAIN Global Study. If your institution serves farming families, you may qualify as a study site.

Become a Study Site
What does my site receive?
Every approved site receives the full study package: four-regimen kits, a secure tablet with the data collection app, a study guide booklet, and monthly de-identified summary reports of impact data collected from your community.
The Site PI does not need to be a physician. HR Managers, School Heads, Farm Operations Directors, and Community Organization leaders are all eligible. Clinical interpretation happens centrally through FarmerHealth’s clinical team.
Health Guides are staff at your institution — teachers, HR officers, farm leads — who receive FarmerHealth training. They administer screenings, distribute PPE, perform fingerstick tests, and manage adherence tracking. You don’t need to hire anyone new.
Phase 1 runs 12 months. Phase 2 runs 4 years. Waitlist control sites begin receiving the protocol after the first 12-month assessment — no community is permanently denied care.
Adherent communities achieve financial self-sustainability. Farming families earn income through paid research participation, which funds their own Health Guides. Three randomized controlled trials demonstrated that financial security lowers cortisol and stops neuroinflammation — the income itself is part of the therapeutic protocol.
Yes. Site PIs are eligible for co-authorship on publications arising from their site’s data. The study is co-sponsored by FarmerHealth and the Institute for Cacao and Chocolate Research at Harvard University.
Sites are activated through corporate partners (employer direct or supply chain), diaspora individual funders, or direct farmer purchase. The funding channel determines who pays — not how the protocol is delivered. Every participant receives identical care.
FarmerHealth is a tech nonprofit subdivision of Cocoa360 Center, the research campus in rural Ghana where the protocol was developed and proven. FarmerHealth scales the protocol globally through the FARMERBRAIN Global Study.

Become a Study Site.

If your institution serves farming families — as an employer, school, cooperative, or community organization — you may qualify as a FARMERBRAIN study site.

Become a Study Site
Download Protocol (PDF)