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Value addition to Cocoa for maximum return is the
key, Kufuor urges
Accra, Sept. 5, Ghanadot/GNA - President
John Agyekum Kufuor on Wednesday encouraged cocoa producing
countries in Africa to implement policies that promote both,
value addition and domestic consumption to maximize returns.
He said, given the importance of the crop to their
economies, they must adopt and implement the policy of value
addition to boost returns, and also promote consumption on
the continent to help influence the pricing.
Africa, which produced approximately 76 per cent of the
total world cocoa output, last year processed only 14 per
cent of its production and accounted for barely three per
cent of the annual consumption.
Europe, a non-cocoa producing continent, processed 42 per
cent of the world's total production.
President Kufuor was addressing the second Africa Cocoa
Summit in Accra, attended by delegations from Ghana,
Nigeria, Cote d' Ivoire, Togo, Equatorial Guinea, Democratic
Republic of Congo and Guinea.
Cocoa has been critical to the economies of West and Central
African countries, providing employment for more than 50 per
cent of the work force, and remains a major source of
revenue for some economies.
Productivity levels in many of the African countries are
however lower than the rest of the world. While countries in
Asia and America have yields above 800 kilograms per
hectare, those in Africa record less than 500 kilograms per
hectare.
Further, the continent loses about 50,000 tonnes of the crop
annually to pests and diseases.
The delegates are discussing ways of defining a policy
roadmap towards a sustainable Africa cocoa economy.
President Kufuor said given the very well researched health
and nutritional benefits of the crop, stakeholders in the
industry should develop new recipes and menus to promote
cocoa dishes.
This is the way to introduce this "Food of the Gods" into
Africa's cuisine, he added.
President Kufuor drew attention to the reported prevalence
of child labour in the industry and asked the countries to
take all measures to prevent the unacceptable practice.
He said in Ghana, the Government had taken legislative
measures to ensure that such practices were eliminated.
He urged all to constantly remind themselves of their
responsibilities to their children, saying, "We must remain
alert so that there is no negative perception that might
affect international demand for our cocoa."
The production and management authorities, he said, have
been tasked to impose a regime of verification and stoppage
of the inhuman practice in every form.
In a message read for him, Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Dua,
called for the rational use of pesticides to reduce risks
bordering on health and the environment.
He said Africa should work together and articulate
strategies to sustain cocoa production and maintain the
quality of the beans.
Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Ghana's Finance Minister, said a
ministerial meeting that preceded the summit had recommended
among other things, the need to make cocoa farming more
attractive to the youth, work together for the harmonization
of international quality standards, promotion of domestic
consumption and a commissioning of inventory of cocoa
resources to enhance policy formulation.
GNA
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