Sierra Leone’s Envoy in Accra, Ghana, His Excellency Mohamed Hassan Kaisamba, on Wednesday, 19th, August, engaged the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Dr. Ransford Anertey Abbey, at their head office in Accra, Ghana.
Speaking during a courtesy visit, High Commissioner Kaisamba, upon his arrival, conveyed warm greetings from His Excellency, President Dr. Julius Maada Bio, and the people of Sierra Leone, while thanking the Cocoa Board CEO for making time to meet with him and his delegation amid his very busy schedule.
He reaffirmed President Bio’s vision of making Sierra Leone a food-sufficient nation through his government’s flagship program, Feed Salone, adding that the partnership between both countries is a high priority
H.E. Kaisamba described the visit as a follow-up one ahead of explicitly studying, learning from, and replicating the COCOBOD model in Sierra Leone, as was earlier discussed by both President Julius Maada Bio and President John Dramani Mahama.
He furthered this by highlighting Ghana and Sierra Leone’s signing of one core agreement and six memoranda of Understanding, during the inaugural Permanent Joint Commission for Cooperation in April this year, to deepen bilateral ties in several areas, including agriculture with a focus on cocoa sector development and knowledge transfer.
In addition, he explained that Sierra Leone is determined to move away from fragmented production and establish a unified, structured cash-crop authority with the support of Ghana’s Cocoa Board.
“A joint executive notification has already been issued to Sierra Leone's Ministers of Agriculture, Trade, and Foreign Affairs to have a smooth flow of information, recommendations and implementation when all is set”. H.E. Kaisamba stated.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Dr. Ransford Anertey Abbey, thanked the High Commissioner and his team for visiting the Cocoa House.
He commended the Sierra Leone Government for considering improving the cocoa industry in Sierra Leone with their support.
The Government of Ghana, through its ministries, departments, and agencies, the Chief Executive said, is ready to share knowledge, lessons learned, strategies, and support Sierra Leone’s cocoa production in rebuilding it.
To ensure the program's success, the Cocoa Board Chief Executive said his team is willing to engage Sierra Leone’s technical team on areas such as seed production, extension services, quality control, shipment, and processing, among others.
While the High Commissioner was accompanied by two of his diplomatic staff, the Chief Executive was joined by his Deputy Chief Executive for Agronomy and Quality Control, Deputy Chief Executive for Operations, and the Director of Research.
The Ghana Cocoa Board manages the operations of the country’s key cocoa industry.
