President Akufo-Addo on Thursday, November 12, 2020, honoured one of the most illustrious sons of the land, Joseph Boahen Aidoo.
It follows his sterling performance as Chief Executive of the Ghana Cocobod.
At a ceremony held at the Jubilee House (presidency) earlier on Thursday, President Akufo-Addo conferred the national award of Companion Of The Order Of Volta, Honourary Division on him for spearheading the joint Ghanaian-Ivorian effort to secure a New Trading Mechanism which allows for a new cost item of US$400.00 per tonne, as Living Income Differential (LID), for every cocoa sold by the two countries.
A second award was also conferred on his Ivorian counterpart, the Director General of Le Conseil Du Café-Cacao (CCC), Ibrahim Kone Yves, at the same ceremony.
The National Award of Companion Of The Order Of Volta, which was instituted in 1960, is categorised as a national Order of Merit and reserved for persons who have distinguished themselves in some form of public service to Ghana.
The two gentlemen, who head the respective cocoa regulatory organisations in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire are the 44th and 45th individuals to have merited and received the award.
Already, the President of Côte d’Ivoire, Alassane Dramane Ouattara has awarded the two men; each as Commander of the National Order of Merit of Côte d’Ivoire for their achievement.
In presenting the award, President Akufo-Addo said it was in honour of two outstanding men who have shown exceptional commitment to the growth and development of the cocoa industry and for the betterment of the lives of the millions of cocoa farmers in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.
He talked of the fact the benefit of LID has already been realised by the two countries.
The extra revenue inflow from LID has enabled both countries to announce unprecedented increases in their producer prices of cocoa for the new season despite the fall in the international price of cocoa occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.
For him, the exceptional feat chalked by the two men, “does not only serve to immediately provide our dear farmers with remunerative incomes but also safeguards their future welfare by creating a lasting buffer for them against the shocks associated with drops in the world market price of cocoa.”
He therefore stressed the need for Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire to continue to work together to consolidate present gains and deepen cooperation in the fight against the Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease (CSSVD) and in promoting environmentally friendly farming practices devoid of child labour.
He further expressed confidence in the two gentlemen to work together to improve the cocoa sector as a whole.
Cocobod CEO, Joseph Boahen Aidoo said he was humbled to be honoured with such a high national award in his lifetime. He credited President Akufo-Addo and his Ivorian counterpart, Alassane Dramane Ouattara for initiating the processes which ultimately led to the achievement of a new trading mechanism for cocoa from the two countries.
His colleague Ibrahim Kone Yves, on his part, said he had been very much moved by the honour.
The award, he added, was not just for him but for all who supported the effort to achieve LID and, indeed, for the entire Ivorian nation.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent