The first ever consultative summit on the cocoa sector has been held in Kumasi by HFC Bank for all stakeholders in the cocoa industry.

Speaking at the event, the Managing Director of HFC Bank, Mr. Robert Le Hunte indicated that the bank organized the forum to support the growth of the cocoa industry.

“The bank’s relationship with the Cocoa industry began in 2012 and entails the financing of Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs). This gives us the opportunity to contribute to the development of an important crop such as cocoa,” he said.

Mr Le Hunte also used the opportunity to congratulate the Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD and his team for the “Youth in Cocoa Farming Initiative” which seeks to curb the challenge of aging farmers by encouraging more young people to take up cocoa farming.

Mr. Le Hunte also announced the bank’s plan to increase its investment in the sector from GH¢90.0 million to GH¢198.1 million stressing that, “the possibility of increased yield per hector presents a viable opportunity for our bank.

The Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Cocoa Board, Dr. Stephen Opuni who was the special guest of honour at the summit was full of praise for HFC Bank’s support to the LBC’s.

He expressed his delight at the bank’s plan to raise its quantum of financial support to all stakeholders along the value chain adding, “this comes as great news to us at COCOBOD particularly at a time when government’s focus is on sustaining the enabling environment for more private sector participation in the cocoa sector”.

He acknowledged the challenges of an ageing farming population, illegal mining and modernization gap, and stated that COCOBOD had instituted some measures to tackle these issues which had yielded positive results across the value chain.

He assured the gathering that the country was on the right path and added that “even in the face of the above-stated challenges, production figures are steadily on the rise and Ghana is on course to meet its projected 850,000 tonnes production by the end of 2016.”

The seminar was attended by various businesses within the cocoa value chain including Cocoa Farmers, LBC, Haulage Institutions, Agro-chemical Institutions and Cocobod.

The participants were given insights on the Bank’s financial proposition for the industry. They were also provided with a detailed lecture on trends and best practices in the cocoa industry by a consultant.

HFC Bank has consistently supported development in various sectors with the most recent being its support for youth athletics in Ghana. In June this year, the bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ghana Education Service (GES) to provide support for the Youth Athletics Festival with an initial amount of GH¢125,000.

The support for youth athletics and the cocoa industry is the bank’s way of ensuring the development of Ghana’s human and natural resources.