TETTEH QUARSHIE COCOA FARM ATTRACTS TOURISTS (SPREAD)

The Tetteh Quarshie Memorial Cocoa farm at Mampong Akuapem attracted a total of 2,158 tourists last year.
Mr Mawutor Boadi, the Facility Manager at the farm, who made this known at the first Cocoa Festival held in Accra, said the farm, which was receiving about 93 tourists a month last year, was already recording an average of 200 tourists a month this year.
He said with the construction of receptive facilities at the farm by the Ministry of Tourism and Diasporan Relations and FM24, the management of the farm, the farm was increasingly becoming a major tourist destination for both local and international tourists.
Mrs Oboshie Sai Cofie, Minister of Tourism and Diasporan Relations, who delivered the keynote address at the festival, said the ministry in collaboration with the management of the farms planned to set up a small local chocolate manufacturing centre at the farm.
She explained that when this was done, tourists would be given a hands-on experience in cocoa processing on the farm and also have the opportunity to taste chocolate manufactured by themselves, as a means of adding more fun to their visits.
Mrs Sai Cofie noted that from being a virtually unknown plant in Ghana the introduction of just a few seeds by Tetteh Quarshie in 1879 were cleverly nurtured and spread to become the backbone of the economy.
The minister said the cocoa industry currently provided employment to many, creating settlements and satisfying the tastes of millions in the world.
She said apart from it revenue-generating role in the national economy, cocoa had served as a good ambassador of Ghana and in many ways had attracted a lot of foreign attention and interest in the country.
She said it was interesting to know that some of the first seedlings planted by Tetteh Quarshie could still be found on his farm and had become a great tourist asset.
Miss Barbara Osew-Kwatia, facility director of FM24, managers of the farm, said currently the organisation was running three heritage sites in the country and since taking over the management of these facilities, various initiatives had been put in place.
She said one of such new initiatives was the first-ever Cocoa Festival, which was to become an annual affair to give opportunity to Ghanaians and the international community to join in celebrating the golden pod.