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Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana
History
The Institute was founded in June 1938 at Tafo and was originally named the Central
Cocoa Research Station of the Department of Agriculture of the Gold Coast. It was
founded in order to examine the diseases and pests that harmed cocoa trees and affected
the production of cocoa in the Eastern Region.
The Central Cocoa Research Station was established on the reccommendation of Sir
Frank Stockdale who was the Agricultural Advisor to the Secretary of State for the
Colonies. In 1935 he visited West Africa and felt that a research station should
be created to determine what needed to be done to maintain the current rate of production
of cocoa. After receiving his reccommendation the British Colonial government agreed
to allocate the necessary funds to establish the station.
In 1944 the governments of Gold Coast, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and the United Kingdom
set up the West African Cocoa Research Institute, with its headquarters also located
at Tafo; a substation was also created and was located in Ibadan, Nigeria in 1953.
In October of 1962, after Ghana and Nigeria had gained their independence, the Central
Cocoa Research Station and the West African Cocoa Research Institute were closed.
The Ghanaian government then took over the station at Tafo and established the Cocoa
Research Institute of Ghana.
Mission and Objectives
The mission of the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana is to:
1. Undertake tresearch into all problems relating to the production. Processing,
and utilization of cocoa and the other mandated crops
2. Provide information and advice on all matters relating to the production of the
mandated crops
The objectives of the Cocoa Research Intitute of Ghana are:
i. To provide the farmer with a package of husbandry practices/technologies for
realizing optimal yields and high economic returns under enviromentally friendly
conditions.
ii. To conduct research into, and develop techniques for the processing of cocoa,
coffee, sheanut, kola, and cashew for the market.
iii. To conduct research into and develop new products (other than traditional ones)
from cocoa, coffee, kola, sheanut, and cashew with a view to diversifying utilization
and improving market prices. Also develop by-products from residues or waste parts
of crops to give farmers more income from their crops.
iv. Establish strong linkage with extension for effective transfer of research findings,
new technologies, and agronomic practices to farmers.