About twenty artisans from across the country have received training in hand-made artisanal chocolate making.

The five-day hands-on training programme is expected to empower the trainees to produce chocolate to meet internationally accepted standards.

Experts from the Cocoa Processing Company (CPC) together with scientists at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Food Science department offered the trainees the hands-on lessons.

“We have very few people consuming cocoa products locally. We also realised there are few people trained in this field and so we saw the need to train more people”, Program facilitator and food Scientist, Dr. Jacob K. Agbenorhevi explained.

According to him, the school engaged industries for such projects because they want students – some of who benefitted from the training programme – to practise most of the things taught in school.

Until now, the Cocoa Processing Company (CPC) was the only outfit that produced chocolate in Ghana.

The artisanal training program is expected to break that monopoly at least for other products aside the chocolate bars.

Research and Development Manager for Cocoa Processing Company, Alex Dwamena, is optimistic this will increase more use for the product as well as generate income and employment for the youth in the face of growing unemployment.

Participants also received vital tools to enable them start their own businesses.

Ashanti Regional Project Director for the National Service Scheme (NSS), Dorinda Akpene Agarr, underwent the training.

According to her, they would consider injecting chocolate production in the service programs to equip personnel before they end.

“A lot of service personnel passes through me, therefore I will give them this vocation to become ‘choco-preneurs’ and as they leave at the end of the service, they will get something to work on”.

With just a little income or whatever they (service personnel) will save out of the service stipend, Mrs. Akpene is positive, they will be able to establish themselves out of the chocolate learning.

“Once the service personnel pass through the scheme, they will be equipped in chocolate-making and it will increase employment in the country,” she said.

Meanwhile, officials at the KNUST Food Science and Technology and the Cocoa Processing Company are mulling the idea of making the training program an annual event.