Joseph Boahen Aidoo, CEO of Ghana Cocoa Board
The Chief Executive of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Mr Joseph Boahen Aidoo, has tasked staff of the regulatory body to show more commitment and zeal in the discharge of their duties in 2021.
The Covid-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on economies the world over and Ghana, the world’s second-largest producer of cocoa beans has not been spared.
According to the COCOBOD Chief, the pandemic nearly cast a shadow over the country’s economic outlook for Cocoa.
In an End of Year message, Joseph Boahen Aidoo said, “we want to sustain the sector and make it a reliable backbone of the country’s development”.
+
On December 1, 2020, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo launched a pension scheme for the country’s 1.5 million cocoa farmers.
The pension scheme, which will enable cocoa farmers to make voluntary contributions towards their retirement, while the COCOBOD makes a supplementary contribution on behalf of the farmers, will also enable the farmers to live decent lives in their old age.
The scheme will be managed by the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA), and it forms part of the efforts by the government to sustain interest and revamp the cocoa sector.
The scheme will guarantee a decent retirement income for cocoa farmers for life, while ensuring decent livelihoods after retirement.