Kufuor courts support for Akuapem Ridge Coffee Project

Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has rallied support for an initiative seeking to boost coffee production and job creation along the Akuapem Ridge.

The former President said the Akuapem enclave had a huge potential for coffee, adding that an upscale in production as it was done in the case of cocoa would greatly impact the contribution of agriculture to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

He made the call when he launched a pilot coffee incubator programme at Akropong in the Eastern Region.

A project brief shared with the Ghana News Agency said the initiative seeks to de-risk coffee cultivation, reduce entry barriers for the youth, and promote large scale production for export.

The project is spearheaded by the Asili Coffee Purveyors Limited, with support from the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), GIZ, International Trade Centre (ITC) and Opportunity International among other partners.

Former President Kufuor said he was confident that the successful implementation of the project would make the Akuapem Ridge a hub for coffee production and create opportunities for farmers and players along the value chain.

He said the programme was a “great initiative that might truly contribute to transformation of both the economy and society of our nation.

“The Akuapem Ridge seems to contain very special attributes. It was this same Ridge that Tetteh Quarshie introduced cocoa seedlings and through that Ghana became number one producer of cocoa.

…the good thing is that we are talking about the entire coffee industry that would make it competitive,” President Kufuor said.

The Akuapem area has more than 100,000 tenable acres and a population of about 250,000, out of which about 65 per cent are youth.

Mr John Nana Addo Francois, founder, Asili Coffee Purveyors, said under the programme, farmers would have access to free coffee seedlings, training and capacity building, as well as ready market for their yields.

He said Asili had also procured modern processing equipment to ensure that the harvested coffee were processed and exported to other countries, including the United Arab Emirates.

“If the coffee crop is integrated effectively into society long term, at optimal operational levels and with efficient maintenance, each acre represents a minimum of $1000 in earnings potential. Annually, commercial income of $100,000,000 can be generated in the Akuapem area,” he said.

Mr Larry Attipoe, National Coordinator, ITC Alliances for Action, said the country must adopt a different approach to the coffee industry through value addition to maximise benefits along the value chain.

“Roasting the coffee here rather than exporting green coffee is one of those steps…if we have more of such who are roasting and setting up coffee businesses, then the consumption of coffee in this country will grow,” he said.

Mr Kennedy Owusu Nyarko, Eastern Regional Manager, Seed Production, COCOBOD, said Ghana's coffee production continued to decline since 2009 and expressed confidence that the Akuapem Ridge coffee project would complement efforts to revive the sector.

“We expect that the emergence of incubator hubs such as this will complement COCOBOD's efforts in solving some of the challenges faced in the coffee sector, “he said.

Mr Eric Owosu, a resident of Akropong and beneficiary of the project, said he had gained transferable skills in the cultivation of coffee and rallied other farmers to take advantage of the programme to diversify and increase their yields.

The global coffee market size was valued at USD 127 billion in 2022 and is anticipated to witness a compound annual growth rate of 4.72 per cent from 2023 to 2030.

GNA