The cocoa industry is a battle of the mind

One of Ghana’s legal luminaries, lawyer Ace Ankomah has a deep saying. He says: “Brains develop nations, not natural resources”

The Republic of Ghana, bordering Côte d’Ivoire to the east, is the second largest exporter of cocoa. The country’s cocoa production accounts for 30% of its export earnings. About 800,000 Ghanaian farmers are directly involved in cocoa cultivation. Most of these cocoa farming families live in extreme poverty

Most of the cocoa growing areas have the most deplorable road conditions. According to the study by KNUST’s mechanical engineering department, more than 400 cocoa farming communities are without electricity in the western regional enclave.

The sad state of affairs in our cocoa sector is described below;

Ghana produces an average of 850,000 metric tonnes of cocoa per year.

812,000 metric tonnes in 2018/2019

850,000 metric tonnes in 2019/2020

Ghana produces 20% of the world’s demand for cocoa. According to COCOBOD CEO, Ghana only earns $ 2 billion out of more than $ 100 billion from cocoa industry

In the chocolate industry, we are number 65, earning just $ 13 million while other countries earn billions. Germany earns $ 5 billion, Belgium $ 3.1 billion.

In Korea, they started using Ghanaian cocoa beans to make cocoa in 1975, after we soldiers arrived in their country with chocolates in their rations. Now they’re making $ 55 million, we’re making $ 13 million in the cocoa industry.

They make billions, we earn miseries with all the hard work. Note that the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has signed and secured a US $ 1.3 billion pre-export trade finance facility as part of its annual cocoa syndication for the purchase of 900,000 metric tonnes of cocoa for the 2020/21 crop year.

It’s a battle of the mind! Our leaders must wage this mental battle and rethink our methods. Ghana should set the tone for cocoa. Our chocolate industry should accumulate billions for our country, not ridiculous amounts. Why should Ghana get loans every year to buy cocoa beans and cocoa growing inputs? How many children of cocoa farmers benefit from COCOBOD scholarships? Most farmers haven’t tasted chocolate in their lives and that’s according to a Bloomberg study in Ivory Coast and Ghana.

It’s not beyond us, let’s use our mind!