The Deputy Public Affairs Manager of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Mr. Benjamin Teye Larweh, has encouraged Municipal, Metropolitan, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) to continue using their platforms to promote initiatives that enhance local value addition within the cocoa sector.
Mr. Larweh made the remarks during a courtesy call on the Municipal Chief Executive of Agona West, Hon. Eric Gyamfi, as part of COCOBOD’s ongoing stakeholder engagement programme in the Central Region.
The exercise forms part of the Board’s routine interactions with local authorities and key partners aimed at deepening collaboration and gathering feedback to support the sustainable growth of the cocoa industry.
Mr. Larweh noted that while various efforts are already underway to increase domestic processing and consumption of cocoa, there remains room to strengthen advocacy at the local level to complement national initiatives. “Promoting local value addition is a shared responsibility. The more we highlight the importance of processing and consumption at the community level, the stronger our collective impact will be,” he said.
Eric Gyamfi commended the COCOBOD team for the engagement, describing it as insightful and timely. He also appreciated the team’s efforts in educating them on the modalities for determining cocoa producer prices, noting that the information would go a long way to support the Assembly’s interactions with farmers and other stakeholders.
He assured the team of his commitment to share the information with local businesses and community leaders to enhance understanding and support for the Board’s programmes.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
