Tetteh Quarshie's family reunites to revive legacy

Accra, July 17, GNA - The family of the late Tetteh Quarshie, the agriculturist who was responsible for the introduction of the cocoa crop into Ghana's economy, has resolved to unite to rekindle the legacy of the revered national hero.

Both the maternal Hammond and paternal Tetteh Quarshie families, at the weekend, undertook a pilgrimage to the Mampong Akuapem Traditional Area to revisit the historical first cocoa farm in Ghana, established by their grandfather, Tetteh Quarshie.

Tetteh Quarshie is believed to be the first person to have brought cocoa seeds from his sojourn in Fenando Po Island, now Equatorial Guinea. He set up the first cocoa farm in Mampong Akupem in 1879 after a first attempt to grow the crop in the coastal area of Accra failed.

The farm was replanted in 1960 but presently two of the original trees planted by Tetteh Quarshie still stands and bears fruits.

Mr Francis Opai Tetteh, Spokesperson of Tetteh Quarshie's Family, during the tour of the cocoa farm and the house the agriculturist in Akuapem, said the families' decision to reunite was to forge a common front to revive the legacy of their great grandfather.

He said lately, some 'spurious and erroneous' impressions had been created by some individuals that Tetteh Quarshie did not own the rights of introducing cocoa to Ghana, adding that they realised that if both sides of the families did not speak with one voice, the inheritance bequeathed to them by Tetteh Quarshie would be eroded by other narratives.

Mr Opai said to reawaken their great grandfather's legacy a foundation was being created by the family aimed, specifically, at facilitating the promotion of vocational and technical education, an element of the life of Tetteh Quarshie who was also a blacksmith.

Thus, the foundation would provide scholarships to needy students across the country to undertake vocational and technical studies.

The family had earlier called on Osabirima Nana Kwame Otu Darte III, the Chief of Mampomg Akuapem, who was unhappy that Tetteh Quarshie's Family could not lay claim to any cocoa farm apart from what the national icon left behind.

He said that it was ironic the family could not boast of at a least a ten-acre cocoa farm themselves, adding that Tetteh Quarshie's legacy could only be revived and maintained if the family took cocoa farming seriously.

The Chief said there was so much to be done to regenerate the cocoa sector and urged the families to unite and collaborate with the Akupem Traditional Area to start a grand cocoa planting agenda that would benefit the present and future generations.

GNA

By Ken Sackey, GNA