COCOBOD REAFFIRMS COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABLE COCOA PRODUCTION

Date: 21st March 2024

The Chief Executive of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Hon Joseph Boahen Aidoo, has reaffirmed Ghana’s commitment to working with the European Union and other EU countries in ensuring the sustainable production of cocoa in the country.

He said COCOBOD would continue to engage the EU on ways to ensure the smooth operationalization of the new EU Regulations, particularly the aspect that deals with traceability and sustainable cocoa production.

He said as Ghana’s industry regulator, COCOBOD was fully ready to comply with the new EU Legislation and would therefore continue to implement policies and programmes that are in line with the provisions in the new legislation in order to ensure a sustainable cocoa industry. 

Hon Boahen Aidoo however observed that effective compliance is also contingent on adequate and transparent information flow, adding that COCOBOD would sieze the opportunity during the meeting in Brussels to dialogue with the EU for clarity on some aspects of the legislation in order to facilitate their implementation.

“We at COCOBOD are fully committed to a sustainable cocoa industry and have demonstrated this through the implementation of stringent policies concerning traceability; we hope the meeting in Brussels will afford us the opportunity to seek clarity on certain aspects of the legislation to aid in our compliance” he emphasized.   

The COCOBOD CE made these assertions when a delegation from the Netherlands, led by the country's Ambassador to Ghana conferred with management of COCOBOD in Accra.

The meeting, amongst others, centred on ways to maximize cooperation between Ghana and the Netherlands in the areas of cocoa trading and marketing, as well as, ways to deal with the deadly Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease (CSSVD) using laboratory technology designed by Iribov West Africa, a Dutch-owned Plant Laboratory Company located in Sogakope in the Volta Region of Ghana. 

Hon Boahen Aidoo emphasized the strategic importance of the Netherlands as one of the biggest trading partners in the cocoa sector and said more would be done to explore other ways to enhance the bilateral relationship between the two countries.

He further described as 'good news' the move by Iribov West Africa to invest in research towards tackling the CSSVD which he said is the single biggest nemesis to Ghana’s cocoa sector.

The Netherlands Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. Mr. Jeroen Verheul, on his part, said his country would continue to remain an important partner to Ghana in cocoa trading. 

Mr. Verheul indicated that the Netherlands, as a major trading point of the EU  is seeking to strengthen its cooperation with Ghana in the areas of commerce and scientific research in order to improve the cocoa sector.

The Business Development Manager of Iribov West Africa, Mr. Kees Veldhuijzen, briefed the management of COCOBOD on the research work carried out by his organization on the potential solution to the prevalence of the CSSVD in Ghana.