Cocoa Board signs Agreement with ICI

Accra, April 18, GNA- Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod) on Wednesday signed a 19.6 thousand dollar financial package with the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) to help train media personnel on sensitization programmes on the elimination of Child Labour in cocoa growing communities.

The package is part of a 500,000-dollar initiative for Ghana by the ICI to carry out various activities in the Cocoa sector.

Mr Isaac Osei, Chief Executive of COCOBOD and Mr Peter McAllister, Executive Director, ICI initialled the agreement on behalf of their respective institutions.

Mr Osei said the programme would also aim at sensitizing stakeholders in the sector, especially frontline staff and cocoa farmers on the need to eliminate worse form of child Labour in the country. Mr Osei said, while child labour in Africa is deeply enshrined on the needs of parents to inculcate into the children some cultural practices, it was important that those issues that play on the development of the child, especially denial of education and hazardous work be dealt with and eliminated.

Mrs. Agnes Kyei-Frimpong, Deputy Director Of Research and head of Child Labour Desk, COCOBOD said in efforts to eliminate the worse form of child Labour in cocoa growing communities in the country, her outfit had trained 204 frontline staff and field officers to help upgrade their skills and knowledge on child Labour issues.

She said under the programme, effective radio programmes would be adopted by trained producers and presenters to help reach audience in those cocoa growing communities in their local languages.

Mrs Kyei-Frimpong said in the collaboration with the ICI, the programme would commence soon and expressed the hope that the programme would go a long way to educate parents to stem the practice. Mr. Peter McAllister, Executive Director, ICI, said the programme was not only good for the country but would provide the international community about efforts being made to stop the canker.

Mr. McAllister said he was pleased to be associated with the programme and that it was critical to identify and support such an initiative. 18 April 07