A Special Advisor to the UN Secretary General on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, has pledged to lead Ghana’s diversification effort from cocoa to coffee production.
His support will be in the area of sharing ideas over how to diversify into coffee production; scale up the production of coffee; getting a market for the production of coffee; and helping the country achieve the sustainable development goals as well as how to reach new partners.
Prior to making this pledge, the renowned economist, had already connected the West African country’s Kuapa Kooko, a cocoa farmers’ cooperative organization to the world’s number three leading manufacturer of coffee products, Luigi Lavazza, a testimony of an already existing market for their produce.
His support to Ghana in this diversification exercise was spurred by Kuapa Kooko’s sustainable development goals programme which will see the over 100,000 cocoa cooperatives and a household of more than 500,000 set up a coffee processing plant and coffee plaza at Ampabame and Daatano respectively, all in the Ejisu-Juaben Municipal Assembly in the Ashanti Region in the coming years.
Kuapa Kooko’s SDG compliant project of which a seven and a half (7.5) acres of land has been acquired for was facilitated by Millennium Promise Alliance (MPA), a non-governmental organization which is at the forefront of the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa.
The project falls in line with the Government of Ghana’s vision of adding value to cash crop like coffee and as well help in the fight to achieving the SDGs.
The coffee processing plant which also has a packaging and a warehousing facility, according to the initiators of the project, will be set up on a six acre plot of land in the free zone area in the Ejisu-Juaben Municipality while that of the coffee plaza will be set up on a one and a half acres of land situated on the Accra-Kumasi Highway.
At a high level meeting on the sidelines of an SDG programme hosted by Ghana on Monday, Prof. Jeffrey Sachs expressed his excitement about the ideas put forth by the management of Kuapa Kooko and further promised to assist them to realize their dreams.
“This for me is very exciting and I am going to continue to do my best to help
bring the partners and help Kuapa Kooko fulfill its vision”, he noted.
The Managing Director of Kuapa Kooko, Mr. Samuel Adimado, addressing the forum explained the rationale behind the diversification exercise and the setting up of the SDG compliant coffee processing plant and a plaza.
Story: Freeman KORYEKPOR AWLESU