Nana Agyemang Ansong, the Sales and Marketing Manager for the Cocoa Processing Company of Ghana, producers of the Golden Tree brand, has urged Ghanaians, especially the youth, to make Ghana’s National Chocolate Day celebration viral.
Nana Ansong said just like most Ghanaian youths used their social media statuses to promote hashtags and happenings around the world, they should consider promoting Ghana’s Chocolate Day initiative, which was aimed at promoting the consumption of chocolate and other cocoa products.
He said promoting and lifting the status of the celebration on social media would help people all over the world to hear about it and plan towards joining Ghana annually to celebrate, making it possible for the country to become the “Chocolate Hub of Africa” to boost the country’s economy.
Nana Ansong said achieving this aim would help create more jobs for the youth, as cocoa had the potential of employing more than half of Ghanaians in its value chain.
“Cocoa can employ more than half of Ghanaians along its value chain, from farming, harvesting, fermentation, warehousing, shipment, sales, and producing cocoa-based products among others,” he said.
He eulogised Tetteh Quarshie for bringing cocoa to Ghana, noting that his singular act had changed the whole fortune of the country, stating that even though Ghana was now the number two cocoa-producing country in the world, the country had the potential to recapture the first position.
Nana Ansong further said that over the years the contribution of scientists and farmers had greatly impacted the cocoa industry, putting Ghana on the global market, and said the late Jake Obetsebi Lamptey, who initiated the National Chocolate Day in 2005 when he was the Minister of Tourism, also deserved to be celebrated for his contribution.
The initiative brought Ghana another enterprise, as many people developed the habit of consuming cocoa products and chocolates through the National Chocolate Day celebration over the past two decades.
The National Chocolate Day is celebrated in Ghana on February 14 annually to coincide with the Valentine’s Day celebration, to increase the local consumption of cocoa products, especially chocolates, while shifting the focus of the youth from immoral activities on the day to celebrating Ghana’s cocoa.
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