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The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) is taking steps to expose school children to cocoa production in order to preserve the rich history and sustain the commercial value of this crop.
The overall goal is to encourage the next generation to embrace cocoa planting as a business, regardless of their chosen profession as they grow older. COCOBOD believes that this initiative could potentially increase Ghana’s cocoa production tonnage in the long term, even if only five percent of the targeted children show interest in the industry.
Mr. William Kwaku Serebour Prempeh, the Ashanti Regional Administrator of COCOBOD, emphasized the importance of introducing children to cocoa’s significant role in Ghana’s economy and nurturing them to become active participants in the sector. He made these remarks while engaging with the media after hosting children from Gentle Steps Academy, a private school, at Cocoa House in Kumasi as part of the initiative to familiarize them with cocoa operations.
This initiative is a collaboration between COCOBOD and the Cocoa Processing Company (CPC), which also sees children as key consumers of its products. During the event, children were shown videos depicting the cocoa processing stages before the beans are finally produced for both local and international markets. Departments such as the Seed Production Division (SPD), Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED), and the Quality Control Company (QCC) took turns engaging the children in discussions about their activities.
The children were also taken to a demonstration farm within the COCOBOD premises to experience the production process firsthand. They were walked through the various stages of planting, highlighting cocoa’s role as one of Ghana’s foreign exchange earners.
Mr. Prempeh mentioned that research has shown that what children learn between the ages of six to ten significantly shapes their mindset as they grow. Hence, the decision to target young ones within that age bracket with cocoa orientation is strategic. “We are taking deliberate steps to engage children to develop a keen interest in cocoa production so they can appreciate its importance and possibly take up cocoa farming as a business when they become adults,” explained the Regional Administrator.
He emphasized that cocoa is the only export commodity that Ghana has absolute control over, unlike others where foreigners can invest and repatriate a significant portion of the proceeds to their own countries. He underscored the need for all stakeholders to collaborate in promoting cocoa planting, consumption, and marketing to strengthen the economy for the benefit of the general population.
Mr. Alfred Mensah, the Ashanti North Area Head of Cocoa Processing Company, highlighted the enormous nutritional benefits of cocoa beans. However, he noted that it was unfortunate that the majority of consumers were not the producers of the commodity. He explained that CPC’s role in the value chain is to process some of the beans into various products for both domestic and international markets.
