The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, has tasked the Board of Directors of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to use their expertise to achieve one million metric tonnes of cocoa production in the next four years.
He said it was the vision of the government to arrest the declining cocoa production by increasing it to one million tonnes, to boost the country’s foreign exchange earnings.
Dr Akoto said these when he swore into office two members of the board, Dr Ernest K.Y. Addision, Governor of the Bank of Ghana and Mr. Charles Adu Boahene, Deputy Minister of Finance in Accra yesterday.
The swearing of the two, who were not present when the President swore into office the other members, completes the full list of the nine-member board.
The minister reiterated the government’s commitment to provide more incentives to cocoa farmers by introducing several interventions aimed at revamping the sector in order to increase production.
Dr Akoto said the cocoa sector was dear to the heart of the government and urged the board to work efficiently and effectively to achieve the government’s objective.
“You know the task ahead of you, there is a declining growth of cocoa in the country, your job as a board is well cut out, and this government wants to take cocoa production to one million metric tonnes by the end of the first four years. It therefore behoves you to adopt the right strategies that will ensure that our target is achieved,” he said.
Mr Boahene, who spoke on behalf of the two, pledged to work diligently to ensure the fulfilment of the government’s objective.
