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The Vice-President, Mr Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, has stated that the government would continue to protect children against hazardous work and exploitation in the cocoa growing communities.

He said currently Ghana was working to eliminate the worst forms of child labour in  cocoa farms hence the introduction of the child education support programme that would ensure the rehabilitation of schools in cocoa growing communities.

Addressing the gathering at a dinner organised by the Federation of Cocoa Commerce in London last Friday, Mr Amissah-Arthur said the government’s plan was to develop a sustainable economy that would improve the livelihoods of cocoa farmers.

He said the school rehabilitation programme would also involve ensuring  an improved road network and provide the opportunity for children living in deprived cocoa communities to access quality education. 

 He said the government would also continue to prudently manage the cocoa sector to enhance productivity to guarantee livelihoods for farmers and their families while pushing for sound environmental practices to protect the forest reserves.

Cocoa

Touching on Ghana, as one of the major cocoa growing countries in the world, the Vice-President said since the introduction of cocoa in the country in the 19th century, the commodity had been one of the major foreign exchange earners for the country.

He said the theme for this year’s dinner reflected the prospects of the increasing demands for cocoa products in the Asian region and how that demand impacted on productivity in cocoa producing countries.

“We need to invest in new farms through a climate smart approach, as well as increase the productivity of existing farms,” he said, adding that the government, recognising the significant role cocoa played in the economy, was helping the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to address challenges of the sector.

Youth programme

Mr Amissah-Arthur identified the lack of motivation of the youth to embrace cocoa farming as a challenge for which COCOBOD had outlined a programme to encourage the youth to take advantage of its cocoa farming programme in a number of cocoa  growing communities.

He said more than 30,000 young men and women were engaged in that programme  under which they would benefit from the supply of necessary inputs including free fertiliser and agro chemicals to boost their production.

The vice- president said currently COCOBOD, in collaboration with certified bodies such as the Rain Forest Alliance and Fair Trade, had set up certification standards for cocoa production where members were educated on good agronomic practices in order to ensure sustainability of cocoa production while addressing environmental and ethical issues.

He added that 50 million hybrid cocoa seedlings were being distributed to farmers free of charge this year under a programme to be continued annually for job sustainability.

Present at the ceremony were Mr Muhammed Jusuf Kalla, the Vice President of Indonesia, Mr Aldo, the Chairman-elect of the Federation of Cocoa Commerce Limited, Lord Paul Boateng, a former minister in the UK government and  Mr Victor Smith, Ghana’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.