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The senior lecturer conducts an entrepreneurship programme to encourage students to be innovative. One of the key subjects he imparts is a value addition to cocoa by using the commercial crop for winemaking.
Ghana is now looking at value-adding to its main commercial crop Cocoa, using an innovative technique, an out of box solution, which has the potential to attract more resources into its kitty or at least reduces its wine import bill. Cocoa has been Ghana’s main commercial crop for several decades and is reckoned as the second-largest cocoa producer and exporter in the world. Dr Harrison Adjimah, a lecturer, has successfully pioneered the process of making wines using cocoa and other local raw materials.
The senior lecturer conducts an entrepreneurship programme to encourage students to be innovative. One of the key subjects he imparts is a value addition to cocoa by using the commercial crop for winemaking. Importantly, winemaking can be done at various levels. It can be in the organized vineyards and informal households, bringing additional income to the cocoa farmers, who are facing uncertainties in terms of prices being offered to them. A large part of farmers in the West African country depends on cocoa farming for their livelihood. In addition to cocoa, cashew and coffee beans are processed into refined red and white wines and juice.
Some wineries have expressed their intention to make wines from premium cocoa and coffee. Amongst them is Volta Winery, which aspires to become the premium cocoa, coffee, and cashew winemaker in Ghana. The vinery has already evolved standard wine production steps. The moot point is whether the country can market the exotic wines both domestically and internationally. If it can do that, wines can be another source to bring in the precious foreign exchange for the country.
Also Read:
https://trendsnafrica.com/ghana-restricts-export-of-maize-and-soya-beans/
https://trendsnafrica.com/eu-financing-for-ghana/
Imported grape wine has become popular in Ghana. In the past 10 years or so. It has been importing wines from South Africa, France, Spain, the US, Argentina, Australia, and many other countries/ Imports have grown exponentially in recent years and at times become costly depending on the value of the local currency against the dollar. Of late, the imports have dropped mostly driven by depreciation in the value of the local currency. Ghanaians are increasingly becoming wine lovers. Now, wine cafés are there in the country, particularly in the capital city Accra, which sells several varieties of wines imported from Spain, South Africa, and, more recently, California.
Importantly, Ghana also exports wines in small quantities to various destinations such as Côte d`Ivoire, Belgium, Portugal, the US, Costa Rica, and South Africa.
