Christian introducing the Minister; Hon. Mrs. Sherry Ayittey to deliver her speech and to launch the Regional Workshop.

Transcription

1 A SPEECH DELIVERED BY THE MINSTER OF ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ON THE OCCASION OF THE LAUNCHING OF THE GEF- UNEP GREENING THE COCOA INDUSTRY REGIONAL PLANNING WORKSHOP IN ACCRA ON APRIL 12, Christian introducing the Minister; Hon. Mrs. Sherry Ayittey to deliver her speech and to launch the Regional Workshop. Hon. Mrs. Ayittey making remarks before her prepared speech

2 Introduction Mr. Chairman, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, Minister of MEST delivering her speech to launch the Project in West Africa. To her right is Stephen Twomlow of UNEP&GEF. To her left are Emmanuel Opoku of COCOBOD and Eric Servat of RA Cocoa Program. It gives me much pleasure to launch this GREENING THE COCOA INDUSTRY PROJECT, financed by of the Global Environmental Facility and implemented by the United Nations Environmental Program. The project is seeking to transform cocoa production practices across the cocoa regions of Ghana, Cote d Ivoire, Nigeria and Madagascar such that they conserve biodiversity and secure a sustainable livelihood

3 for cocoa farmers and their families. These countries have been selected according to their importance for biodiversity; their reputation in the industry and the interest of the industry in supply from these countries. As Minister of the Environment and the GEF Political Focal Point in Ghana, I am pleased to be associated with this project and to support it to achieve its goals of conserving our environment and improving the livelihoods of the many of our farmers whose lives depend on the crop. GEF-UNEP and Cocoa This is the first time I have seen the GEF facility directly supporting the cocoa industry and collaborating with a robust Standard for sustainable production that emphasizes the protection of wildlife, the conservation of water resources and the careful management of our soils. Indeed this underscores the important recognition that sustainable cocoa production could contribute immensely to the overall goal of the GEF facility which is biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation, protection of waters and prevention of land degradation. The Rainforest Alliance s certification system, based on those same principles, has achieved a high level of presence and recognition in the international market, with brands such as Côte d Or, Galaxy and Magnum using the little frog certification seal to demonstrate their commitment to these sustainability principles. The project is indeed an alliance with the private sector.

4 Environment, Cocoa and Sustainability A recent baseline study showed that our region has experienced significant forest loss through the extractive practices of the timber sector and expansion of the cocoa industry by promotion of zero shade cocoa production systems. These have gradually led to the fragmentation of our forest landscapes, loss of wildlife corridors and forest connectivity, and degradation of biodiversity and the ecosystem goods and services. Permit me to point out that a prominent consequence of deforestation is on the cocoa industry itself: a significant loss of major soil nutrients. This has been a leading cause of the decline in our national cocoa yields. As Minister of the Environment, I have observed a trend towards less shaded cocoa landscapes that undercuts the environmental sustainability of production and biodiversity conservation. Several reports to my Ministry have pointed out that in West Africa, only about 35% of cocoa production occurs under good agro-forestry system. Our Farmers are not enemies of nature. They understand that a healthy ecosystem supports their production through environmental services such as pest control, pollination and soil fertility. But they do not always have the knowledge, technology or support to farm in the most efficient way for nature; and as a result they may make inappropriate choices for the long term health of their farms and communities. The Rainforest Alliance Certification, I understand is bringing signals from the market that

5 the farmers need to make changes and crucially it is also bringing training and technical assistance in how to make those changes- such as these: No tolerance of further destruction of any natural ecosystem no destruction of high value ecosystems due to purposeful farm management activities implementing analysis and mitigations against all past actions that destroyed or damaged ecosystems including Empowerment of farmers to own their own solutions. Achieving sustainability is a combined effort, in which the farmers, government, industry and technical assistance providers must share a common vision and play their particular role to bring it about. This is why the project is crucial. The market end of the chain including the traders, processors and manufacturing companies, several of whom are represented here today, must not only have genuine commitment to demand sustainably produced cocoa but must also invest resources to make it happen. This is the key principle of a true sustainability. We must see within the next 5 years that the mainstream market has followed the example of these leading brands and accepted the challenge to commit to sustainability and integration of biodiversity conservation in the cocoa and chocolate value chains. Oil and Cocoa Ladies and Gentlemen, I cannot conclude my reflections without saying a word about our oil discovery. Our citizenry have great expectations from the oil finds. Some have stated that proceeds from oil would account for 70% of government revenue, exceeding that of cocoa and gold combined. In the recent conflicts in Cote d Ivoire

6 and Libya, some have even concluded that Oil is seen by the West as a more strategic commodity than cocoa if we re to be quite blunt. Others have also contended that the oil revenue is not sustainable and that the good of cocoa is that we are able to control the quantity and quality in a sustainable way. As a government who cares for the people, we believe that all our resources must be managed sustainably for the common good. The two distinct economies of oil and cocoa must live side-by-side for the greater good of our people. Our vision for cocoa is an industry that empowers the cocoa farmer to thrive alongside suppliers and manufacturers in a way that doesn t happen today. We must all stand ready to work with anybody who shares that goal, and look forward to a day when our saying, Ghana is cocoa and cocoa is Ghana, rings as true for the farmers of the future as it has for generations past. On this note, Ladies and Gentlemen, I declare this project duly launched. Thank you very much and have fruitful deliberations in your planning meeting.

7 A cross-section of participants at the workshop during the speech of Mr. Emmanuel Opoku of Ghana Cocoa Board. Cross-section of participants during the presentation of Stephen of UNEP-GEF