Ghana to import cocoa?

Accra, Feb 12, GNA-Mr Stephen Kwaku Balado Manu, Deputy Majority Whip in Parliament on Tuesday sent warning signals to the nation to adopt effective measures for increased cocoa production to avoid importing cocoa beans.

In a contribution to a statement on Ghana's Chocolate Day, to be celebrated on February 14, Valentine Day, Mr Manu called for attention to be shifted on to the cocoa farmer to increase production to feed local processing companies.

Mr Manu, who is also MP for Ahafo Ano South and Board Member of the Cocoa Processing Company (CPC), said the CPC was to undergo expansion and if care were not taken to increase cocoa production, the nation would be forced to import cocoa beans, the lack of which might cause a closure of the company.

He said the Ghanaian cocoa farmer lived in conditions that were not the best.

He urged the nation to make the cocoa farmer a focus of its attention and advocated support schemes for cocoa farmers. Additionally, the MP said school children must be made to take chocolate drinks as part of the Government school-feeding programme. The statement on the Chocolate Day, made by Mr. Stephen Asamoah-Boateng, Minister of Tourism and Diasporan Relations, dwelt on the therapeutic, spiritual, love and passion potencies of chocolate. "The Ministry of Tourism and Diasporan Relations introduced the National Chocolate Day to coincide with Valentine Day to emphasise the significance of chocolate and for that matter cocoa in the expression of the spirit of love, gift giving, health and Ghana's enviable position in the global cocoa industry," Mr Asamoah-Boateng said.

He added: "Chocolate remains a predominant food and health product as well as a love gift item in many cultures. "Mr Speaker, for this year, the Ministry has t hemed our national Chocolate Day: "A Gift of Love and Health."

Among the activities planned for the Day are that the Ministry, together with its partners would make a donation of chocolate and other cocoa products to the first family at the old people's day care centre at Osu on the Day.

There would also be a days' trip of school children and other tourists to Tetteh Quarshie's farm at Mampong Akwapim. Tetteh Quarshie was believed to have brought cocoa to Ghana.