The event, which will be held on the theme: “Eat chocolate, stay healthy, grow Ghana”, with the sub-theme: “Our chocolate, our health, our wealth", will be a week-long celebration, starting from February 12 to 22, 2022.

It is aimed at promoting domestic consumption of locally made chocolate and other cocoa products, as it highlights the health benefits of cocoa and the economic potential of the cocoa value chain.

The programme is the initiative of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), in collaboration with the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) and the Cocoa Processing Company (CPC).

As part of the event, there will also be a cocoa health walk, a float, a donation, a durbar and exhibition, a movie premiere, among others.

Significance

The Minister of Information, Mr Kojo Opong Nkrumah, who launched the programme, said the event was instituted to promote the local consumption of chocolate and other cocoa products as part of efforts to make chocolate a gift of choice, not only on Valentine’s Day but also all occasions.

"Exactly one year ago, I launched the maiden edition of the National Chocolate Week, on behalf of the Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, in Accra.

"I am happy to announce that our objective for the week-long celebration was highly achieved, breathing new life into our national cocoa consumption drive and giving us enough cause to do more and achieve more.

"Ghanaians from all walks of life, irrespective of their political, religious or ethnic affiliations, fully participated in the celebration with zeal and enthusiasm," he said.

The minister said the support from stakeholders, including COCOBOD, the GTA, cocoa processors and financial institutions, towards the 2021 campaign contributed in moving Ghana’s per capita cocoa consumption up, closer to the one kilogramme target set in 2017.

He, however, said despite the relative improvement in Ghana's quest to become a cocoa consumption nation, its current per capita consumption, which hovers around 0.55 kilogramme, was still nowhere near what existed in Europe and America, which mainly bought Ghana’s cocoa beans.

"It is for this reason that we deem it necessary to sustain the national cocoa consumption campaign at all cost," the minister added.

Gratitude

The Paramount Chief of the Akuapem Mampong Traditional Area, Osabarima Kwame Ottu Darte III, expressed gratitude to COCOBOD and the GTA for the choice of Mampong as the venue for the launch.

He said the decision to launch the 2022 Chocolate Week at Mampong, particularly on the Tetteh Quarshie Farm, was appropriate, laudable and deserved the highest commendation.

According to the chief, the history of cocoa could not be told without reference to Akuapem Mampong, where the late Tetteh Quarshie planted the first cocoa seed.

“Over the years, we have seen great effort by COCOBOD and the GTA to repackage the Tetteh Quarshie Farm into a tourist site and we wish to use this opportunity to thank them for the decision,” he said.