‘Give Tetteh Quarshie a more befitting memorial’

By Edmund Smith-Asante

Osabarima Kwame Otu Darte III, Chief of Akwapim Mampong

THE Chief of Akuapem Mampong, Osabarima Kwame Otu Darte III, has stated the late Tetteh Quarshie, who brought cocoa into the country, deserves a more befitting memorial.

He said although an interchange in Accra and a hospital in Akuapem Mampong had both been named after Tetteh Quarshie, those were not enough recognition for his sacrifices.

Speaking at the third Tetteh Quarshie Memorial Lecture organised by the University of Ghana Business School last Thursday, Osabarima Darte said the state needed to do more to honour such an illustrious son who brought cocoa to Ghana. 

The memorial lecture was held on the theme: “Ghana’s cocoa – Facts of the value chain” and was supported by Chocho Industries, the Ghana Cocoa Board, Coffee, Sheanut Farmers Association, Cocoa Processing Company Limited and Agbeve Herbal Centre/Hospital.

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Osabarima Darte asked for the branding of Mampong Akuapem as the cocoa city of Ghana, which initiative he said, must be led by indigenes of Mampong Akuapem and the University of Ghana.

He also asked that 0.05 per cent of the yearly total income from cocoa sales by the Cocoa Board should be put into an endowment fund for the development of Tetteh Quarshie’s farm.

Switching to the Akuapem language, the chief stated that Mampong Akuapem deserved to enjoy some benefits such as scholarships because it was the place where cocoa growing began in the country, while the family of Tetteh Quarshie also had to benefit from his ingenuity.

“I appeal to the Cocoa Board that there are prominent and historic sites of cocoa at Mampong Akuapem. They are the Tetteh Quarshie Memorial Hospital, Tetteh Quarshie cocoa farm and the Jubilee farm which deserve a capital injection to make them vibrant historic sites for the country,” he said. 

Buttressing the chief’s statement, the Chief Executive Officer of Chocho Industries, Alhaji Mustapha Oti Boateng, said Tetteh Quarshie did not only bring three cocoa pods from Fernando Po (now Equatorial Guinea) at great risk, but also went ahead to start a demonstration farm at Akuapem Mampong.

He said it was from there that Tetteh Quarshie introduced other farmers to the cocoa seeds which caught on and later spread to other parts of the country and had now become a major foreign exchange earner with its right christening of golden pod.

Alhaji Boateng therefore recommended that the March 27 birthday of Tetteh Quarshie should be declared a national holiday and a scholarship scheme should be put in place for Tetteh Quarshie’s family.

He also asked the government and the Tourism Board to give proper attention to a museum created in honour of Tetteh Quarshie and tasked the Cocoa Research Institute to conduct more research into the benefits and uses of cocoa for more patronage.

The Chocho CEO further asked institutions and the government to recognise the contributions of individuals and for Ghanaians to show patriotism through patronage of made-in-Ghana goods.

 Deteriorating conditions on farm

Speaking on behalf of the Tetteh Quarshie family, Nii Ayi Hammond said three of the trees planted by Tetteh Quarshie were still standing in the memorial farm at Mampong Akuapem.

“The fact that it was the farm that provided the golden seeds, which stretched out to other growing areas of the country to become the most important economic tree and the number one foreign exchange earner for Ghana, makes it a treasured monument,” he stated.

He therefore appealed to Cocobod to take steps to remedy the deteriorating conditions at the farm, which included parasitic plants and mistletoes.

Nii Hammond suggested that a family member should be employed by the state to take care of the farm to prevent its further deterioration.

“It is very shameful that when visitors visit the farm the one in charge cannot even speak simple English to foreign visitors,” he stated.  

 Cocoa reforms yield dividends

The Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Operations, Ghana Cocoa Board, Mr James Kofi Kutsoati, who was the guest speaker at the lecture, stated that several reforms that had been undertaken by the Government, had recorded modest gains.

“Production has increased from around 300,000 tonnes in the early 2000s to a million tonnes in a decade,” he said.

Mr Kutsoati said the reforms included rehabilitation and replanting programme for old and abandoned cocoa farms, as well as the removal of parasitic mistletoes from productive trees. 

He also said there were plans to produce and distribute 50 million seedlings to cocoa farmers, while with the support of the government Cocobod had borrowed off-shore to pre-finance the internal cocoa marketing.

“Ghana Cocoa Board has put in place a regulatory framework to control the operational activities of stakeholders to ensure a sustainable future for Ghana’s cocoa industry,” he assured.

For his part, the Chairman for the memorial lecture committee, Dr Kwasi Dartey-Baah, emphasised on the need to establish a Tetteh Quarshie Research and Development Fund aimed at sponsoring research and innovation at the masters and PhD levels.

“In the midst of recent global economic and climate changes, there is the need for Ghana to strategically maintain its competitive advantage in the production of the best quality cocoa beans.

“This cannot be achieved without scientific inquiry and research into the use of modern technology and equipment that will enhance the production of the crop and the value-chain,” he said.

Writer’s email: Edmund.Asante@graphic.com.gh 

This story was first published by the Daily Graphic on Sept 1, 2014