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If a successful chef decides to shoulder his beloved’s kitchen chores and applies his culinary skills to create a new dish at home, how elated would his family be! In analogy with this if a cocoa farmer of Ghana sees his produce being relished by another Ghanaian, fetching him more scope to increase his yield it will certainly add a feather to his cap with hope ‘n’ happiness.
Ironically the annual local cocoa consumption rate in Ghana (the country ranked as the second-largest producer of cocoa beans), is pegged at just 0.5 kilograms. So, to bridge the gap between cocoa and the Ghanaians, COCOBOD is aiming at encouraging cocoa consumption in Ghana and not just its production. Various moves such as making cocoa as the beverage of first choice at homes and offices, turning breaks during seminars into “cocoa breaks”, including cocoa in the form of cocoa drinks, cocoa foods and smoothies in the menu cards of restaurants and cafes are being looked into seriously. Promoting the fact that cocoa contains high antioxidants which helps to fight and remove free radicals from the human body and the nutritional benefits of cocoa should work wonders for Ghana’s cocoa economy.
For taking the idea of promoting the local consumption of cocoa forward, the government of Ghana under its School Feeding Programme intended to serve free cocoa drink to 5.6 million pupils at the kindergarten, primary and junior high levels. A leading Ghanaian cocoa processing company has come forward to support the School Feeding Programme with its ready-to-drink cocoa beverage. In today’s times, children as such play an active role in influencing brand movement and the company’s sales figures are expected to witness a spiraling trend with this novel initiative. Moreover, farmers will justifiably be encouraged because their children could be consuming the cocoa which their parents have passionately harvested. The School Feeding Programme will help eliminate the intake of substandard food items and is cost-effective as sugar will be the only imported ingredient.
Such initiatives by the Ghanaian government in every business sphere which allows feasibility will be seen as a welcome trend to boost the country’s economy.
