Ghana, EU to collaborate for sustainable cocoa production

Ghana is committed to collaborating with the European Union (EU) and other stakeholders to attain a sustainable cocoa production that promotes good forest cover, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, has said.

Currently, Ghana exports 80 percent of its cocoa to the EU, and early this year, the union said it will contribute £25m pounds to improve the economic, social, and environmental sustainability of cocoa production in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Cameroon—who are the first-, second-, and fifth-biggest cocoa producers in the world, respectively.

Speaking to Diana Acconcia, the EU Ambassador to Ghana, during a farewell call on the Minister this week, Ms. Ayorkor Botchwey said bilateral relations between Ghana and the EU witnessed active engagements and growth during the tenure of the ambassador.

She applauded the launch of the Multi-stakeholder Dialogue on Sustainable Cocoa by the European Commission, which seeks to deliver concrete recommendations to promote sustainability across the cocoa supply chain through collective actions and partnerships.

She expressed optimism that the collaboration between Ghana and the EU would eliminate child labour as well as secure the socioeconomic well-being of cocoa farmers and many others engaged in trade, transportation, and processing of cocoa.

The Minister also thanked the ambassador for the signing of an €87m special emergency budget support financing agreement between Ghana and the EU in 2020 to assist the country in its response to the COVID-19 crisis.

She commended the EU for its funding of the COVAX facility, which made it possible for low and middle-income countries such as Ghana to benefit from COVID-19 vaccines, in line with the EU’s commitment to ensure equitable access to the vaccines.