Management of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), led by Chief Executive Dr Randy Abbey, has held strategic engagements with executives from global retail giant Walmart/Clasen and local processing firm Afrotropic Cocoa Processing Ltd. (ACPL).
The high-level engagements are aimed at exploring key investment opportunities and establishing new areas of collaboration within Ghana’s cocoa value chain.
Discussions between COCOBOD and the Walmart team focused primarily on sustainable cocoa bean sourcing, sustainable cocoa financing, management of the Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease, and mitigation of deforestation.
The parties further evaluated pilot initiatives designed to accelerate the rollout of ARS 1000 standards, which seek to ensure fully traceable, sustainable, and high-quality cocoa production, alongside comprehensive cocoa farm restoration strategies.
Meanwhile, the consultation with ACPL centered on building a robust strategic partnership to drive local processing capacity and expand value addition within the country.
This aligns directly with COCOBOD’s ongoing industry reforms targeting the domestic processing of at least 50 per cent of all raw cocoa beans harvested in Ghana.
According to COCOBOD management, these deliberate strategic partnerships remain critical to bolstering support for cocoa farmers, reinforcing the domestic supply chain, and securing a resilient future for the national cocoa industry.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
