The CEO of Ghana COCOBOD turned a health expert today at an event spearheaded by the National Service Personnel at COCOBOD, aimed at creating awareness to increase the consumption of Cocoa products among Ghanaians.

According to Joseph Boahen Aidoo, the health benefits of Cocoa products are underrated in Ghana because per the consumption statistics available, the country can only account for 0.52kg as per capita consumption as against 5kg and 8kg in Europe.

He says the casual use of Cocoa products may not achieve any valuable health benefits but the ardent and consistent use will result in very positive health implications.

Mr. Boahen, veering deeper into the health benefits noted that “Scientifically it’s been proven that Cocoa has a lot of anti-aging properties, the more cocoa you take the younger you look.”

“So if you want to continue to look young, take more Cocoa. But it is not the casual intake of cocoa because...if you take it once in a day it doesn’t work well for you. Six-seven times a day works better.” He added.

Generally, however, Africa’s contribution to Cocoa production in the world is 75 percent but we can only account for 3 percent of its consumption.

Mr. Boahen Aidoo was speaking at the launch of the 2019 cocoa consumption campaign organized by National Service Personnel at the Cocoa House, Monday, July 1, 2019.



Among other related benefits of increased cocoa products consumption, Mr Boahen emphasized that Cocoa has been one of the main sources of Ghana’s economic strength, highlighting that “…the cocoa sector has been the backbone of Ghana’s economy, bringing in billions of dollars in foreign exchange and proving jobs, directly and indirectly to millions of families.”

He further revealed that plans are far advanced to include Cocoa drinks as part of the food menu of the School Feeding Program, an initiative which is targeted at developing taste for Cocoa consumption.

The general objective behind the 2019 cocoa consumption campaign is to get more Ghanaians to develop a strong taste for Cocoa products and most especially improve the health of the citizen. The weeklong program is also expected to be held in Kumasi from 10th-12th July 2019.