The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has called for stronger collaboration among cocoa producing countries in Africa, to deal with emerging challenges that have been occasioned by the recent hike in global cocoa prices.
He said it was imperative for such collaboration to be established to proactively deal with the challenges, while reinforcing the need for cohesive action.
“In light of recent regulations governing cocoa supply, especially to the European Union, collaborative efforts between Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire are essential to establish unified positions and safeguard the interests of our farmers.
Adding, such collaboration would address proactively these challenges, reinforcing the need for cohesive action. We anticipate that this collective initiative will pioneer the way forward for the cocoa industry,” he emphasised.
President Akufo-Addo made the call at the inauguration and handing over of the Cote d’Ivoire-Ghana Cocoa Initiative (CIGCI) Secretariat building in Accra on Thursday.
Present at the ceremony were the Prime Minister of La Cote d’Ivoire, Mr Robert Beugre’ Mamber and his delegation, the Executive Secretary of CIGCI, Alex Assanvo, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana COCOBOD, Joseph Boahene Aidoo, and the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Bryan Acheampong.
The President also noted that the establishment of the headquarters of the initiative in Accra did not only signify what regional unity and cooperation could achieve, but also represented the shared aspiration of the two countries in order to ensure a prosperous cocoa economy.
“This beautiful edifice does not only signify what regional unity and cooperation can achieve. It also represents our shared aspiration for a prosperous cocoa economy, one that is modernised and industrialised and delivering wealth to the millions of hard-working cocoa farmers and producers in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.”
He said the cooperation was the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the African cocoa industry, stressing that “We are through this cooperation creating the opportunity to revolutionise the cocoa supply chain for the delivery of greater value to our economies.”
The President further said the total installed processing capacity had risen to more than 50 per cent of national output with the total value of exported secondary products now average above $800million.
The Executive Secretary of CIGCI, Mr Assanvo, said the initiative had helped to reaffirm the vision to put the producer back at the centre of the cocoa value chain.
He said the attainment of the living income differential had survived “attacks, bashing, criticism and attempts to seek revenge”, however, today the idea of delivering income differentials had become an example for the whole world.
Dr Bryan Acheampong said that CIGCI was now a well-recognised visible player in the cocoa sector, with acknowledged contributions on a range of topics, which include price traceability, regulations and market outlook.
BY CLIFF EKUFUL