{"id":34787,"date":"2014-07-26T15:59:19","date_gmt":"2014-07-26T15:59:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/?p=34787"},"modified":"2014-07-26T15:59:19","modified_gmt":"2014-07-26T15:59:19","slug":"meet-the-worlds-best-cocoa-farmer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/07\/meet-the-worlds-best-cocoa-farmer\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the world\u2019s best cocoa farmer"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Some say farming doesn\u2019t pay well and that it\u2019s just a waste of a person\u2019s life. Others say it\u2019s a job for the illiterate but I beg to differ because I have been in farming throughout my life and trust me when I say that farming pays very well\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Opanyin Abraham Kwaku Adusei, the man who just made Ghana proud at the recently held International Cocoa Conference (ICCO) in Amsterdam, Netherland, owns over 400 acres of cocoa farms situated at Osiem and Elubo in the Eastern and Western Region, respectively.<\/p>\n

Born on June 21, 1946 to the late Nana John Badu and Sarah Adwoa Oforiwaa, natives of Osiem Akim Abuakwa, Opanyin Adusei, as he is affectionately called by his peers in the cocoa industry, is currently the General Superintendent of Saviour Church of Ghana (SCG).<\/p>\n

At the SCG, which has over 100,000 members nationwide, Opanyin Adusei has led them to acquire about 5,000 acres of land used mainly for farming activities.<\/p>\n

He has also made sure that all the youth in his church, aside from their profession, have been given a portion of land at Osiem to farm.<\/p>\n

Genesis of farming career<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opanyin Adusei describes his intense desire and passion for farming as something he grew up with while staying with his parents.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had parents who had extreme zeal for farming. My parents used to send my siblings and me (10 in number) to the farm. They consistently told us that the best way for anybody to make life comfortable for his or herself was through entrepreneurship. For them farming was the key,\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n

According to Opanyin Adusei, although his late parents never forced him to follow their steps, they did extremely well in educating him about the potential in the agriculture field.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, this is not what we see lately in our world today. Most parents rather discourage their wards from entering into farming. Parents \u00a0nowadays prefer their children to aim for white-collar jobs which are limited,\u201d he pointed out.<\/p>\n

Educational Journey<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opanyin Adusei began his elementary school at Osiem and completed in 1958. \u00a0He had his secondary school education at Aggrey Memorial Secondary School at Cape Coast in the Central Region and completed in 1963.<\/p>\n

He then gained admission to the University of Cape Coast a year later to obtain a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education in 1968.<\/p>\n

After his university education, he taught Chemistry and History at the Tweneboah Koduah SHS in the Ashanti Region for about eight years<\/p>\n

According to Opanyin Adusei, those years he spent in the classroom offered him the experience and also strengthened his \u00a0belief that working for oneself was the best profession.<\/p>\n

Distractions<\/strong><\/p>\n

The journey of life, they say, never comes without a few distractions, and Opanyin Adusei, throughout his farming career, had his fair share.<\/p>\n

According to him, among the many challenges he faced, the most difficult one was the fact that he had people, especially good friends, who tried to convince him to abandon his dreams of becoming a farmer.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of them never understood why a brilliant chap like me would want to become a farmer and not a doctor or lawyer. They just didn\u2019t understand and tried on many occasions to convince me to abandon that dream.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said after many failed attempts by his friends to convince him to shun farming, they stopped because his strong passion could not be changed.<\/p>\n

ICCO honour and other awards<\/strong><\/p>\n

Even before Opanyin Adusei could be spotted globally in his chosen profession, he had already been highly recognised in Ghana.<\/p>\n

He was honoured and recognised for his role in the cocoa industry three consecutive times from 1991-1993 by the Produce Buying Company (PBC).<\/p>\n

In 2009, Opanyin Adusei was adjudged the best cocoa farmer in the Eastern Region at the Farmers\u2019 Day celebration.<\/p>\n

His moment of glory came in 2013 when he emerged as the best cocoa farmer in Ghana.<\/p>\n

At the second edition of the World Cocoa Conference by ICCO, which is composed of both cocoa producing and consuming countries in June 9-13, 2014, Ghana\u2019s only representative, Opanyin Adusei, took the topmost award as \u00a0the global best cocoa farmer.<\/p>\n

The award was presented to him by the Executive Director of ICCO, Dr Jen-Marc Anga.<\/p>\n

Opanyin Adusei was elected as the president of the World Cocoa Farmers Organization (WCFO) during the conference in Netherland.<\/p>\n

Farming in Ghana\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

He is of the view that one of the reasons that make people, especially the youth, to ignore \u00a0farming is the wrong perception they hold and lack of support.<\/p>\n

According to Opanyin Adusei, the erroneous perception concerning agriculture in Ghana continues to take a devastating effect on Ghana\u2019s effort to economic transformation.<\/p>\n

He said most of the youth have been socialised into thinking that agriculture \u201cis an old man\u2019s profession.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCompounding the problem is the fact that most of these youth do not have the support and land to farm. Those who are willing to give you the land do it under extreme conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his case, Opanyin Adusei said he took over his parent\u2019s farmland at Osiem, which was about four acres and gradually expanded it when he got more income.<\/p>\n

Way forward<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opanyin Adusei believes that the future of Ghana\u2019s economy would be brighter if more effort was put into supporting and equipping the youth to engage in farming.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe youth must be made to understand that agriculture, aside from being the backbone of Ghana\u2019s economy, is profitable. They must be properly informed that agriculture is the key to alleviating poverty and self-empowerment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

According to Opanyin Adusei, until the erroneous perception was removed and the youth were properly assisted by institutions such as the banks and the society, the youth would continue to see farming as a curse and punishment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhoever brought the idea that when a student flouts school rules, they should be punished to work on the farm has done the country a disservice but the country can still correct this error,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Source: Graphic Online<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some say farming doesn\u2019t pay well and that it\u2019s just a waste of a person\u2019s life. Others say it\u2019s a job for the illiterate but I beg to differ because I have been in farming throughout my life and trust me when I say that farming pays very well\u201d. Opanyin Abraham Kwaku Adusei, the man […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":34788,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[21,4],"yoast_head":"\nMeet the world\u2019s best cocoa farmer - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. 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