GHANA'S COCOA BEANS THE BEST, says Olam Chief (PAGE 20. OCT 21)

THE Managing Director (MD) of Olam Cocoa Business World-wide, Mr Gerry Manley, has commended cocoa farmers in the country for producing the best cocoa beans for the world market.
He, therefore, asked foreign cocoa processing companies to patronise Ghana’s cocoa beans for the production of high quality cocoa products.
Mr Manley who is based in the United Kingdom, made the remarks at Nkawkaw at the weekend when he addressed a mini durbar of workers of Olam, cocoa farmers and some chiefs whose areas are noted for cocoa production in the Nkawkaw area.
The Olam MD, who was accompanied by Mr Amit Suri, Olam’s Vice President of Cocoa Business World-wide, Mr Amit Agrawal, Country Head of Olam, and Mr Rahul Gopinath Nair, Head of Cocoa Business, Ghana, was on a familiarisation tour of the country to acquaint himself with the activities of the company as well as its cocoa production.
He said although Ghana had lost the first position of cocoa production in the world, its cocoa beans were still the best compared with beans from other cocoa-producing countries, and urged cocoa processing companies both in Ghana and abroad to purchase the beans, which, according to him, were suitable for the production of quality cocoa products.
Mr Manley, who visited some of the depots of the company as well as some cocoa farms, said to produce more of such good quality cocoa beans on the market, Olam would continue to support cocoa farmers in the country in terms of inputs and funding for the farmers to expand their farms.
On a 10-acre pilot farm at the Kwasi Baah/Adansua village, near Nkawkaw, he commended the owner, Mr Samuel K. Peprah, for producing 45 bags of cocoa (2.8 metric tonnes) annually.
The chief of Akoasi, near Nkawkaw, Nana Kwakye Acheampong, expressed gratitude to Olam for assisting farmers in the area, and appealed to the company to provide computers to schools within the vicinity.
Earlier, Olam’s Zonal Head for Nkawkaw, Mr Jonathan Quaynor, who was a beneficiary of an Olam-sponsored training programme, thanked the company for that initiative, which had well-positioned its purchasing clerks to undertake their activities.
A Purchasing Clerk, Mr Joseph Antwi, who was adjudged the best for the Nkawkaw area, and presented with an award, thanked the company and gave the assurance that he would improve on his performance during the next cocoa season.