The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, says his government has kept faith with cocoa farmers in Ghana.
According to him, his administration has been consistent in increasing producer prices, to be in synch with the prices on the international market.
“I remember telling the Honourable Members of Parliament during the state of the nation message that I was going to do right by the farmers of Ghana, and that every time the price goes up, their producer prices will go up with it. I am doing right by the farmers of Ghana,” he remarked.
President Akufo-Addo said this on Thursday, April 18, 2024 at the commissioning of the Côte d’Ivoire-Ghana Cocoa Initiative (CIGCI) headquarters, located at Roman Ridge, Accra, Ghana. He was supported by the Prime Minister of Côte d’Ivoire, S.E.M. Robert Beugré Mambé, with both planting a ceremonial cocoa tree on the premises of the Secretariat.
The President, speaking to the Ghana-Cote d’Ivoire guests at the ceremony, said that his government was committed to adhering to the government of Ghana’s policy on producer prices, which aims to pay producer prices the guarantee income for a decent living for cocoa farmers.
“It is this commitment that has led us to pay the highest producer prices in the history of Ghana. Even in the middle of this cocoa year, when we noted the positive changes in the international market, we did not hesitate to review upwards the producer price of cocoa to enable farmers to earn higher incomes and prepare their farmers in readiness to take advantage of the market prices in the coming season,” he said.
Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire together produce 65% of the world’s cocoa, but the sector is fraught with challenges, especially for the farmers, to reap substantially from what they sow.
COLLABORATION
President Akufo-Addo noted in his address that there are common challenges that Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire face in the cocoa sector, but the establishment of the CIGCI was a major step towards collaborative efforts to address the challenges.
The President advocated collaboration, explaining that the development of the two countries lies in their collective efforts towards industrialisation and fair trade within and outside the continent of Africa.
He also mentioned that their quest for agro-industrialisation is repositioning the dynamics of the agricultural sector, adding that the cocoa sector in Ghana, in particular, is witnessing the impact of these changes.
HISTORIC
President Akufo-Addo said the launch of the Secretariat was “truly historic,” stating that the edifice does not only signify what regional unity and cooperation can achieve, but it also represents shared aspirations for a prosperous cocoa economy.
He reiterated that Ghana is proud to host the headquarters of this initiative, as the CIGCI cooperation is the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the African cocoa industry.
Leadership and direction
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire, S.E.M. Robert Beugré Mambé, who represented the President of Cote d’Ivoire, President Alassane Ouattara expressed the commitment of his country to the initiative.
He remarked that Cote d’Ivoire stands ready to work collaboratively with Ghana to ensure that cocoa farmers in the two West African States reap the full benefits of their labour.
He added that his country will give the needed leadership direction to the CIGCI for her to achieve all its stated objectives.
COOPERATION
The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr. Bryan Acheampong, is the Chairman of the CIGCI Steering Committee and Mr. Alex Assanvo of Cote d’Ivoire is the Executive Secretary.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Acheampong noted that the Côte d’Ivoire-Ghana cocoa initiative was a testament to the importance of cooperation between the two countries.
“The new office of the Côte d’Ivoire Ghana cocoa initiative is now fully operational and this commissioning further materialises the vision of the two-member countries’ Heads of State, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and President Alassane Ouattara of Côte d’Ivoire, Dr. Bryan Acheampong said.
CIGCI
In the “Abidjan Declaration, made on March 26, 2018 Alassane Ouattara, President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana, reaffirmed their willingness to define a common sustainable cocoa strategy to increase the prices received by cocoa farmers in their respective countries in a sustainable way.
It is in this context that, to give substance to the political will of the two Heads of State, the regional organisation known as the Côte d’Ivoire-Ghana Cocoa Initiative (CIGCI) was set up with a charter.
The Secretariat, the operational body, is based in Accra, Ghana and is permanently headed by an Executive Secretary of Ivorian nationality, appointed by Côte d’Ivoire. The organisation is expected to open up to other African cocoa-producing countries.
