WITHOUT any fear of contradiction, we can say that cocoa is the backbone of the Ghanaian economy, not only in terms of the revenue it brings but also the employment avenues it provides, both directly and indirectly, as well as the wealth it puts into individual and family pockets.
Ever since Tetteh Quarshie brought the crop into the country for it to become an economic commodity, many good things have flowed from it, all to the well-being of the country and its people.
In the cocoa-growing regions of the country, one can easily see practical benefits of cocoa wherever one looks. Many buildings owe their existence to the cocoa industry, just as many educated persons from the rural areas owe their education to the crop.
Apart from these, the crop has indirectly produced national edifices which are benefiting every Ghanaian who gets to them. The Akuafo Hall of the University of Ghana, Legon, easily comes to mind, and we can also talk about the Cocoa Clinic at Bubiashie in Accra.
We can also add Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) scholarships awarded children and wards of cocoa farmers to enable them to access secondary school education.
In short, Ghanaians, wherever we find ourselves, owe a lot to cocoa and the Daily Graphic thinks it is time we all came together to put the industry on a high pedestal.
This is why we are very happy to learn that Cadbury International, the giant worldwide producers of confectioneries and non-alcoholic beverages, has announced a package which involves the setting up of a development fund to boost the cocoa industry in the country over a 10-year period.
The package, which is in partnership with the COCOBOD, will begin with the investment of £600,000 into the cocoa sector this year, the focus being on cocoa farmers, with the amount being increased to £3.5 million annually over the next 10 years.
From every indication, this is a welcome intervention from Cadbury which will go a long way to reverse the declining trends in the cocoa industry in the country, as per the research conducted by the University of Sussex in the UK and the University of Ghana.
The research revealed, for instance, that the average production of the cocoa farmer in the country had fallen to 40 per cent of the potential yield. It also established the fact that younger people found cocoa farming less attractive and that the average age of the cocoa farmer was 51.
These are frightening revelations which do not augur well for the sector which is the mainstay of our economy.
The Daily Graphic, while thanking Cadbury for its foresight and goodwill, would like to plead with the administrators of the fund to go about disbursing the money judiciously so that the target group — cocoa farmers — will benefit from it.
We also join President Kufuor in asking Cadbury to consider the possibility of venturing into the processing of the beans here in Ghana, so that we can add value to the produce to enhance our development. As it is, it is only when we add value to our primary produce that we can earn a lot from them and also create employment avenues for our teeming youth.
Since the government of President Kufuor came to power in 2001, it has done a lot for the cocoa industry. Not only has it increased the producer price for farmers and regularly paid bonuses to cushion the farmers during the off season; it has also sprayed their farms to get rid of the swollen shoot disease and replanted some devastated farms.
The cocoa industry will receive a further boost if Ghanaians are sensitised adequately to patronise cocoa and cocoa products such as choclate on the National Chocolate Day. The DAILY GRAPHIC urges the Ministry of Tourism and Diasporan Relations to do all in its power to make the observance of the day a memorable one this year.
Cocoa is Ghana and, therefore, let us support the industry to blossom to create wealth and jobs.
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