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Chief Executive Of the Ghana Cocoa Board, Joseph Boahen Aidoo has outlined measures to enhance the sustainability of cocoa production in the country.

He believed sustainability of the growth of the cocoa industry will lead to productivity both locally and internationally.

Delivering a keynote address at the Partnership Meeting of the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) this week, Hon. Boahen Aidoo stated that the "long-term sustainability of the cocoa value chain is a shared global responsibility. There is a growing international cooperation and understanding to the effect that, the cocoa industry needs to maintain productivity and profitability at levels that are socially acceptable, economically viable and environmentally friendly. Thus, the attainment of a sustainable cocoa economy has become a predominant objective of all stakeholders. Meanwhile, perspectives on what it means, the best path to its attainment, and the level of commitment to achieving it differs among stakeholders. This, perhaps, is one of the grand challenges in cocoa sustainability".

He noted that cocoa production and sustainability has different meanings to consumers and stakeholders in the sector.

According to him, consumers see cocoa sustainability as mainly bordering on ethical issues and environmental protection while for manufacturers and grinders, all efforts are targeted at continuous and profitable sourcing and with producers, it's all about a decent price that enables farmers to live a life of dignity.

The Chief Executive of the CocoBod recounted some challenges confronting the cocoa industry, beginning with consumers to stakeholders.

To him, environmental factors such as illegal mining (popularly called galamsey) have contributed largely to the decline in cocoa production. This is not only the case for cocoa farmers as he further added that the annual income of cocoa is not enough to cater for families into cocoa production.

"Reflecting on the theme of this session, on board the flight to Washington, I remembered my interactions with cocoa farmers in the early part of this year. One farmer comes in mind – Opanin Kwasi Oti, at Sefwi Boako, in the cocoa heartland of Ghana. Kwasi Oti is like any typical Ghanaian cocoa farmer – 55 years old, with 5 hectares of farm, 5 children and harvesting a total of 30 bags of cocoa annually. At his current state, none of his children above the age of 17 is interested in their father’s occupation. Kwesi Oti is facing an increasing unpredictable climate, rising labour cost, low international prices resulting in low producer price and part of his farm has been affected by the cocoa swollen shoot virus disease (CSSVD).

The annual income of cocoa is not enough to cater for the Oti family. Meanwhile there is a vibrant land market patronized by the illegal artisanal miners (popularly called galamsey operators) at Sefwi Boako which is known for its sedimentary gold ore deposits. An obvious despondent-looking Kwasi Oti was found at the crossroad of selling his landed property to ever cash-ready galamsey operators or holding onto his 5 ha cocoa farmland and continue to wallow in poverty. The horrible ravage that galamsey has caused Ghana’s forests, environment and water resources in the past ten or so years is a narrative that must not be entertained".

"...do we have the required knowledge, resources and partnerships that can transfer cost-effective technologies and innovations necessary for raising productivity of smallholders? Do we have the collective capacity to help Kwesi Oti to adapt and mitigate adverse effects of climate change? Together, do the partners gathered here have the collective ability to raise demand for cocoa? Can our initiatives and projects lead to living incomes from cocoa for likes of the Oti family?" he further questioned.

Despite the challenges, Hon. Boahen Aidoo was optimistic when right measures can be put in place to remedy the situation and make cocoa a lucrative business venture.

He outlined some pragmatic steps as follows:

Hand Pollination

"Results from the pilot programme across the country have been satisfactory and generated a lot of enthusiasm amongst the cocoa farmers. We are going to scale up the programme this 2017/18 crop year. In addition, we have expanded cocoa extension coverage. We have opened discussions with our partners to expand the use of ICT in cocoa extension".

Irrigation

To him, irrigation is key to the sustainability of cocoa production, in that "climate change mitigation is a priority in the productivity enhancement agenda. There are two cocoa flowering seasons in Ghana. One coincides with the rainy season, the other occurs during the dry (Harmattan) period. Because of lack of soil moisture during the Harmattan, most of the flowers drop. This accounts for what is called the light crop and the smaller sizes of the beans. To optimize farm yield and improve upon bean sizes, we have started piloting small scale irrigation. This will also be scaled up next year".

Agro-Forestry Practices

The next thing that he said with respect to the cocoa productivity is for the stakeholders to take advantage of agroforestry practices of cocoa cultivation and organic cocoa farming.

"Because of the profound negative effect of the use of herbicides and weedicides on soil microbiology and biodiversity we have made it a policy to return to weeding, but of course not manual weeding. COCOBOD in partnership with the private sector will soon introduce motorized slashes for weeding and motorized pruners for the pruning of cocoa trees and removal of mistletoes" he stated.

The other factor is incentivizing in the farm rehabilitation programme of the cocoa fraternity.

"The programme involves cutting the unproductive diseased and overaged cocoa trees for replanting. The programme achieved little results in the past despite the supply of free seedlings to farmers because the intervention overlooked two critical issues, namely, the loss of household income and security of land tenure. Note, this is not a local problem. Cote d’Ivoire faces same. The two countries have jointly put in a request for funding from the African Development Bank. The sooner the funding the better for Ghana, else I am afraid we may lose a sizeable amount of our cocoa farmland to galamsey. The foregoing clearly demonstrates that COCOBOD has packaged interventions that basically aim at enhancing efficiency and productivity of the Ghanaian farmer. This is being done not only to discourage farmers from selling their farmlands but it is also meant to make cocoa farming a lucrative venture and attractive to the youth".

Prices

He also noted that there has been a drop in cocoa prices and so it should be a concern to all stakeholders since it directly impacts the sustainability of cocoa.

Therefore, the price trend for cocoa needs to be reversed to resolve the situation, he opined.

"Prices are the best fertilizer for improving livelihoods. Cocoa prices send signals to farmers as to the amount of time and labour to invest in cocoa production. Thus, low prices constitute a major threat to the sustainability of the industry. Ladies and Gentlemen, the recent price drop is viewed generally as an issue of over-production. Producers are therefore expected to manage their side of the Demand-Supply balance by reducing the quantity of cocoa presented on the world market. It must however be noted that cocoa production is not easily amenable to control in the short-to- medium term, as the case may be with oil and other industrial production processes.

"...we need to collectively work towards increasing demand to establish the desired equilibrium in the market. One key activity in this regard is the promotion of cocoa consumption. Foremost, we have to stimulate consumption in the conventional markets of North America and Europe, generate same in the untested markets of Africa, and step up promotion in the emerging markets of Asia. Just imagine 5% of Chinese and Indians taking 10 grams of cocoa products daily. The direct impact on the entire value chain will be revolutionary. Hence our shared agenda on cocoa sustainability must focus and pursue such cause".

New Markets

The development of new markets for cocoa, he added, should be high on the agenda so far as its sustainability is concerned.

"This cannot be achieved if we continue to promote consumption in the conventional way – that is in the form of sweetened chocolates only. We may continue to target children and younger consumers with sweets, but adult populations require different products. Concerns about sugar, milk, calories etc. are stagnating demand, especially in traditional chocolate markets" he said.

Cocoa Health Benefits

Hon. Boahen Aidoo also called on the stakeholders to project the health benefits of cocoa in order to attract a larger market and consumers.

He advised the gathering to place emphasis on the health benefits cocoa provides its consumers, saying "it is common knowledge that dark chocolates with high concentration of cocoa solids contain more health-boosting flavonoids – those potent antioxidants which protect cells against damage from free-radicals. Flavonoids are said to help protect the body against diseases associated with oxidative stress such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and cancer, build bone mass, enhance cognitive performance and are aphrodisiac. These are all concerns that people who are forty years and above often grapple with. I am talking about the very health problems that cocoa addresses, and the very people who have the purchasing power to buy cocoa. So what are we waiting for? The Health benefits of cocoa must therefore be told".

Hon. Boahen Aidoo therefore charged all stakeholders to use their positions and resources to address the concerns regarding cocoa production and sustainability in order to ensure a booming industry for the product.

He also added the objective of his outfit, the Ghana Cocoa Board, is to drive a resilient and robust cocoa sector that "increases economic opportunities for our farmers, without compromising the integrity of our existing forests".