Ghana’s Parliament has approved by resolution, the Long Term Loan Facility Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana, represented by the Ministry of Finance, Ghana Cocoa Board, (COCOBOD) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) for an amount of Six Hundred Million United States Dollars (US$600. 00m) for Cocoa Productivity Enhancement Programmes in accordance with Article 181 of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.
The Chairman of the First Committee in moving the motion said, “The Trade Finance Facility is to enable COCOBOD to obtain funds from the African Development Bank to finance Cocoa Productivity Enhancement Programmes with the aim of increasing Ghana’s national output to an annual average of one million tonnes whilst also doubling average productivity from the current 450kg/ha to about 1200kg/ha”.
On the utilization of loan proceeds, the report as contained in Finance Committee Report presented to the plenary for debate submitted that COCOBOD has drawn up strategies to improve productivity per hectare of cocoa farms, increase processing and increase consumption locally and on the international market.
The summary of interventions to be financed with the loan their estimated costs (in dollars) are as follows: Hand Pollination 68,111,111.00, Farm Irrigation 40,683,678.61, Rehabilitation Cocoa Swollen Shot Virus Disease (CSSVD) 140,288,242.27, Rehabilitation Moribund Farms 82,711,757.73, Warehouse Capacity $0,000,000.00, Farmer Database 10,688,762.21
Promotion of Domestic Processing 200,000,000.00 and Promotion of Consumption 7516144807 totalling US$600.000.000.00.
Background
The cocoa industry has been the backbone of Ghana’s economic development over the years.
The industry has over the years created employment for millions of Ghanaians and serves as a major source of foreign exchange earner for the country.
Cocoa production in Ghana has also increased significantly since the 1999/2000 crop season reaching an all-time high of over a one million metric tonnes in the 2010/2011 crop season.
The increase in the levels of production requires substantial financial resources to enable the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to finance the purchase of cocoa beans.
To this end, the offshore syndicated Trade Finance arrangement was put in place in 1993 to enable the Ghana Cocoa Board secure a loan facility to finance cocoa purchases and for other payments each year.
Story filed by Edzorna Francis Mensah
