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UGBS Honours Tetteh Quarshie with 3rd Memorial Lecture

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The University of Ghana Business School (UGBS), on August 28, marked a 3rd consecutive lecture to honour the memory of Tetteh Quarshie, the pioneer of Ghana’s cocoa industry, at its R.S Amegahie Hall on the theme, ‘Ghana’s Cocoa-Facts of the Value Chain’.

Prof. Samuel Agyei-Mensah, the Provost of the College of Humanities and Chair of the event, stressed the relevance of cocoa in light of the rapid growth of the nation’s oil and gas sector and the immense attention it commands at the detriment of cocoa.

The Dean of the School, Prof. Joshua Yindenaba Abor, remarked in his welcome address that the lecture, which was instituted in 2012, seeks to celebrate the life of Tetteh Quarshie and project his life and achievements as a business man.

He hoped that efforts such as the lecture will influence corporate executives and the country’s youth and trusted that the annual observation of the lecture would enlighten people on cocoa-related issues and Tetteh Quarshie.

Speaking to the theme, Mr. James Kofi Kutsoati, the Deputy Chief Executive (Ops.) of The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) admonished Ghana for failing to recognize its heroes and commended the UGBS for deviating from the norm through its efforts to immortalize him.

 

Delving into the timeliness and appropriateness of the theme, Mr. Kutsoati credited the rehabilitation reforms of 1989 for resuscitating an ailing sector which, now through the collaboration of the private and public sectors, has flourished to become the bedrock of Ghana’s economy and supporting over 800,000 farming families.

He commented on a number of programmes COCOBOD is putting in place to ensure the continued sustenance of the cocoa sector. These, he said, included a strategy on taxation, regulatory frameworks to control and sustain development, programmes to reduce diseases and encourage good agricultural practices, and a GH₵ 50 million package to aid cocoa farmers.

Mr. Kutsoati also elaborated on COCOBOD’s achievements which included liberalizing the internal marketing of the cash crop and enabling private sector involvement.

Others were the introduction of farmers to marketing services and expansion of extension services through private public partnerships as well as external marketing, the latter of which he said remains the preserve of the Cocoa Marketing Company (CMC).

In conclusion, Mr. Kutsoati touted the supreme quality of Ghana’s cocoa beans, the international benchmark for others from other countries, and called on potential investors to consider investing in cocoa for mutual benefits.

Dr. Kwasi Dartey-Baah, Chairman of the Tetteh Quarshie Memorial Lecture Planning Committee, called for the setting up of a Tetteh Quarshie research and development fund to sustain Ghana’s agricultural sector, currently in dire straits due to global and national challenges militating against its growth.

According to Dr. Dartey-Baah, the proposed fund, targeting youth from the country’s tertiary institutions and encouraging them to take to farming, would promote Ghana’s cocoa production and lead to the agricultural sector development at large.

He further entreated stakeholders to support the establishment of the fund to halt the decline of the agricultural sector.

Humbled by Tetteh Quarshie’s sacrifice and immense achievement, the CEO of Chocho Industries, Alhaji Mustapha Oti Boateng suggested, amongst others, the institution of a national Tetteh Quarshie Day to celebrate his achievements.

The co-Chair of the event, Osabarima Kwame Oti Darte III, also called for the recognition of Mampong Akuapem, the home of Tetteh Quarshie’s first cocoa plantation, as Ghana’s cocoa city, and the endowment of a percentage of all cocoa proceeds to Mampong Akuapem to sustain the history of cocoa in Ghana, amongst others, while the representative of Tetteh Quarshie’s family appealed for government scholarships  for family members and the restoration of his family house in Accra and Mampong Akuapem.

Gracing the event were chief farmers, representatives from COCOBOD, the Executive Secretary of the UGBS, media personnel, Faculty members and students of the School.