President Akufo-Addo and President Ouattara after the signing of the Declaration
Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire have resolved to address the challenges in the cocoa sector within the framework of the implementation of the Strategic Partnership Agreement which links the two countries with the signing of the ‘Abidjan Declaration.’
With the two countries having 60% of the world’s cocoa output, fluctuations in the prices on the international market, coupled with a fall of about 20% in 2017, had impacted negatively on the incomes of millions of cocoa farmers, as well as on the budgetary revenues of the two countries.
President Akufo-Addo and President Ouattara signing the Abidjan Declaration
It is for this reason that President Akufo-Addo and Alassane Ouattara, President of Cote d’Ivoire, on Monday, held a consultation devoted to the cocoa economy and subsequently signed the ‘Abidjan Declaration.’
Reading out the communiqué, the Minister for Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen, who accompanied President Akufo-Addo to the bilateral discussions – stated that the Declaration is aimed at “better defending the interests of cocoa producers, as well as the economies of both countries.”
To this end, Presidents Akufo-Addo and Ouattara have reaffirmed their commitment to defining a better, common strategy and a sustainable solution for the improvement of prices for cocoa producers in their respective countries.
President Akufo-Addo and President Ouattara holding bilateral talks
They also committed themselves to harmonizing their cocoa marketing policies, and agreed to announce, every year, in a concomitant manner, and before the beginning of the campaign, the price to cocoa producers.
Additionally, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire have agreed to intensify collaboration in the field of scientific research for the production of cocoa plants, improvement of plant varieties, and also to adopt and implement a regional programme to fight against the swollen shoot disease.
A commitment by the two countries to process a major part of cocoa, and the invitation of the private sector – notably the African private sector – to invest massively in cocoa processing in Africa was also reached.
Joint Press Conference after the signing of the Abidjan Declaration
In conclusion, Presidents Akufo-Addo and Alassane Ouattara reaffirmed their commitment to promoting jointly the consumption of cocoa on the local, regional and emerging markets, and agreed that the consultation between Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire on the management of their cocoa sectors should be done on a regular basis.