THE SUNYANI Regional Office of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) rolled out a series of activities and programmes, including the inauguration of a Cocoa Products Shop, to mark this year’s National Chocolate Week celebration.

The majority of the activities, which were held in Sunyani, the Bono Regional capital, were in line with COCOBOD’s aim to boost and promote the consumption of cocoa products in the area.

The activities started last Monday when the Cocoa Products Shop was inaugurated as a wholesale, retail and distribution centre to serve the Bono, Bono East and Ahafo regions with various cocoa products.

The facility is expected to sell only cocoa products such as cocoa powder, chocolate, cocoa butter and cocoa cake, among others.

Free consumption

Activities performed during the inauguration of the shop included the provision of free cocoa drinks to the public at the forecourt of the shop.
COCOBOD adopted the free consumption of cocoa products strategy to encourage the public to patronise cocoa products, as well as to create the opportunity for those who had never tasted cocoa beverages to do so.

At the inauguration of the cocoa shop, the Administrator of the Sunyani COCOBOD, Michael P. K. Asumanu, called on Ghanaians to patronise made-in-Ghana cocoa products to boost the country’s economy.

He explained that the consumption would help reduce over-reliance on foreign markets and reduce the country’s exportation of raw cocoa beans for processing abroad. 

“So, if we can consume more of our products, it will help grow our local economy,” Mr Asumanu said.    

He said the shop was to bring cocoa products to the doorsteps of the residents and promised to avoid shortages of the products at the shop.

He said cocoa had several health benefits and mentioned low blood pressure, increased blood circulation to the heart, and lowering of risks associated with stroke and heart-related diseases as some of the benefits of the consumption of cocoa products.  

Processing companies   

For his part, the Director of Production at the Tema Cocoa Processing Company, Dr Frank Asante, said the country’s cocoa processing companies had huge capacity to produce in large quantities.

He said COCOBOD was also re-tooling some of the companies to increase the country’s production.

Dr Asante said recent issues surrounding the importation of cocoa beans were not new. 

He explained that the situation was normal in agro-business since there were ups and downs in the industry. 

Cocoa production

Although regional production and consumption figures are not available at the Sunyani COCOBOD, the three regions are noted for the production of cocoa in large quantities.

However, the commodity is highly produced in the Ahafo Region, as all the six districts are actively engaged in the cultivation of cocoa. In the region, farmers, including females are actively involved in cocoa production.

It was, therefore, not surprising that in October last year, the first-ever festival for women in cocoa farming and the cocoa industry from the regions was held in Sunyani.

Under the umbrella of the Brong Ahafo Women Cooperative Farmers and Marketing Central Union Limited (BAWCOF) formed in 2020, women in the cocoa farming and marketing sectors have been organised into a cooperative union. 

     
Health screening

Other activities organised to commemorate the chocolate day were a health screening for cocoa farmers, a quiz competition for senior high schools in the Sunyani Municipality and an exhibition of cocoa products. 

In partnership with the Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) Hospital in Sunyani, a health screening exercise was also organised for cocoa farmers, as well as some residents at Wawasua, a deprived cocoa farming community in the municipality.

The beneficiaries, mostly cocoa farmers were screened for Blood Pressure (BP), Body Mass Index (BMI), sugar levels and eye challenges.

The health screening was conducted to help improve the health status of the farmers and identify hidden conditions or diseases to avoid complications.

Common diseases

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the health screening exercise last Wednesday, a Nutritionist at the SDA Hospital, Kwame Adu Twum, said the medical team identified waist pains, high BP and high sugar levels as common illnesses and attributed the waist pains to their farming activities.

He explained that if the conditions identified were not treated, they could create some health complications in the future.

Mr Twum said the team also observed that some of the farmers did not pay attention to their health through regular check-ups.

He advised the public, particularly the farmers, to cultivate the habit of regular check-ups to avoid complications such as stroke.

He expressed the need for them not to always wait for COCOBOD to organise such health screening exercises for them, but to do so on their own periodically.

Mr Twum said the team screened more than 150 farmers and expressed concern about the refusal of the youth to turn out for the screening exercise, as most of the beneficiaries were the aged.

He said the situation was worrying since recent studies and surveys indicated that most of the youth had diabetes and BP problems and urged them to take a keen interest in their health.

He explained that those who were diagnosed with complications were referred to the hospital for further assessment and treatment.

However, some of the farmers, particularly those who were referred to the hospital for treatment, expressed concern about the COCOBOD and the hospital’s inability to provide them with free treatment.

Screening not enough

A farmer, Kwabena Nyarko, told the Daily Graphic that organising the screening exercise alone was not enough to improve their health conditions.

He explained that it was difficult for some of them to buy medicine prescribed for them.

He said they had worked hard to produce raw cocoa, which was one of the major contributors to the country’s economy, but the government had paid little attention to their health and welfare over the years.

Mr Nyarko, therefore, called on the government to give them financial support to treat health challenges identified by the medical team.

Priority

Responding to the concerns of the farmers, Mr Asumanu said COCOBOD prioritised the health of cocoa farmers because they were the pillars of the cocoa industry.

He explained that the organisation of health screening, which formed part of activities organised to mark the celebration, was a testament to the COCOBOD’s commitment to their health condition.

Mr Asumanu said the establishment of the Cocoa Farmers Pension Scheme was part of measures the government had put in place to ensure comprehensive treatment of farmers with health issues.

He said periodically, COCOBOD organised such free screening and treatment for the farmers and gave assurance that the initiative would be sustained. 

Source: GraphicOnline