The facility which was inaugurated in Accra last Thursday, is situated at the Roman Ridge, a suburb of Accra.

The President urged the two countries to effectively collaborate and build on the alliance with renewed determination and optimism.

“As we launch this initiative and inaugurate this permanent headquarters, we are reminded of the common challenges we face; we must allow determination to foster solutions as we march forward,” he said.

President Akufo-Addo also said that the headquarters project was not the limit to their mutual achievements but a major step towards reaching greater heights as envisaged in the strategic partnership agreements between the two countries.

Background

The Cote d’Ivoire-Ghana Cocoa Cooperation Initiative (CIGCI) took off in 2017 when President Akufo-Addo and the President of Cote d’Ivoire, Alassane Ouattara, signed an agreement for a strategic partnership which would bind the two countries together.

In 2018, President Ouattara and President Akufo-Addo, pursuant to this strategic initiative, said his country was committed to see through the Abidjan Declaration for their respective governments to work together towards the attainment of a sustainable cocoa economy.

The two countries are responsible for 65 per cent of global cocoa output.

Processes

Recounting some of the processes that led to the accomplishment of the initiative, President Akufo-Addo said Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana in 2019 convened a global cocoa meeting during which a dialogue that was critical to the survival of the global cocoa supply chain and the welfare of cocoa farmers was held.

He said this culminated in the adoption of the living income differential for cocoa producers in the two countries and involved the additional payment of cocoa farmers of $400 per tonne on the world market price for every cocoa sold by the two nations, effective the 2020/ 2021 season.

“What was thought was impossible only two years ago is happening now. However, with the current peak in market prices, a new set of challenges has emerged, necessitating a revision of the initial approach to sustain or prevent a decline in prices,” the President added.

The President said the policy of producer prices of the government was aimed at paying prices that guaranteed incomes for decent living of cocoa farmers.

“Even in the middle of this cocoa year, when we doubted the positive changes in the international market, we did not hesitate to review upwards the producer price of cocoa to enable farmers to earn higher incomes and prepare their farms in readiness to take advantage of the market prices in the coming season.

“I am aware and appreciate the fact that this same line of reasoning has guided the Ivorian response to the market’s developments,” President Akufo-Addo said, adding that “we will also continue to work with the government of Cote d’Ivoire within the framework of the Abidjan Declaration for sustainable and prosperous cocoa sectors in our two countries.”

Significance

President Akufo-Addo further said that the edifice did not only signify what regional unity and cooperation could achieve, but also represented the shared aspiration for a prosperous cocoa economy, which was modernised, industrialised  and delivered wealth to the millions of hardworking cocoa farmers and producers in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire.

“We are through this cooperation creating the opportunity to revolutionarise the cocoa supply chain for the delivery of greater values to our economies,” he added.

The Executive Secretary of the CIGCI, Alex Assanvo, said the initiative reaffirmed the vision to put the producer back at the centre of the cocoa value chain for better remuneration.

He said the CIGCI was another example of how the two countries, through their respective Heads of State, could overcome challenges.

For his part, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Bryan Acheampong, said the institution was now a well-recognised player in the cocoa sector which was helping in its growth through price stability, regulations and market outlook.

Dr Acheampong, who is also the Chairman of the CIGCI Steering Committee, said the initiative which started as a convener, was now an agenda setter, paving the way in discussions on price and living income for cocoa farmers in the two countries.

The Ivorian Prime Minister, Robert Beugre Mambe, who represented the President of Cote d’Iovire, and the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board, Joseph Boahen Aidoo, witnessed the event.