Dr Owusu Afriyie-Akoto (3rd left) together with the newly constituted Board
The chairman of the newly constituted Board of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Peter Mac Manu, says all cocoa-related policies will be promoted.
He expressed optimism of some positive turnaround for the sector, saying cocoa farmers would be prioritised in all policy directions that his outfit embarks on.
“Our gallant cocoa farmers are happier today because they have improved incomes. However, more work is to be done to bring farmer incomes to a level where the youth of our country will find cocoa farming attractive. Our duty as a board is to provide policy direction that will lead to the attainment of this objective, and this duty we will discharge to the best of our abilities,” he said.
“We will work to consolidate the gains made, strengthen and accelerate the implementation of ongoing policies, projects, programmes, and initiatives to achieve sustained improvement in yield to ensure sustainable incomes for our illustrious cocoa farmers,” he added.
He gave this assurance at the inauguration of the Board by the Minister of Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie-Akoto.
The inauguration
Inaugurating the 11-member board, Dr Afriyie Akoto charged members to address challenges facing cocoa production, from timely payment of cocoa farmers to the marketing of the commodity.
The 11-member board includes the Chief Executive of COCOBOD, Joseph Boahen Aidoo; Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Enerst Addison; Minister of State at the Finance Ministry, Charles Adu-Boahen; Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Yaw Frimpong Addo; Deputy Trade Minister, Herbert Krapah; and farmers’ representative.
