Entertainment of Thursday, 22 March 2018
Source: James Harry Obeng
2018-03-22
Okyeame Kwame
Few things get Rick Scobey, the president of the World Cocoa Foundation, over the moon.
One, obviously, is when he sees smiles on the faces of cocoa farmers – and, two, is when he hears a developmental song from Okyeame Kwame, the celebrated Ghanaian rapper.
In his latest tweet to the Ghanaian musician on Thursday, the ‘cocoa president’ is requesting the award-winning rapper to do a song for cocoa farmers.
This comes on the heels of a decision by the Ghana government to now allow cocoa farmers ownership of valuable non-cocoa trees found on their farms.
The government, on the UN International Day of Forests, announced that Ghanaian cocoa farmers, for the first time ever, have obtained official ownership of valuable trees on their farms.
This decision has been lauded by experts who have described it as an important milestone for efforts to conserve forests and support diversified sources of income for cocoa farmers.
Adding his view, Scobey tweeted to Okyeame Kwame: “Good news, @Okyeamekwame! Breakthrough for Ghana’s Cocoa Farmers: First-Time Ownership of Timber Trees! There’s gotta be a song here! @WorldCocoa!”
In recent times, Okyeame Kwame has been seen at the forefront of national campaigns aimed at halting climate change, encouraging afforestation and promoting the local cocoa industry.
For this, the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, recently congratulated Okyeame Kwame for his contribution towards national development, particularly in his capacity as an ambassador for Ghana cocoa.
Also, Solidaridad West Africa, a development organisation, recently appointed Okyeame as a Climate Change Ambassador for its World Bank-sponsored Dedicated Grant Mechanism (DGM) project worth $5.5million.
In his stride to encourage sustainable forest management practices, Okyeame has recorded a song about climate change and why it is important for farmers to take responsible action to fight the phenomenon.
It is, however, not known when Okyeame Kwame will honour Scobey’s request and do a song to celebrate government’s announcement on timber ownership by cocoa farmers.
But in responding to the tweet, Okyeame Kwame tweeted: “Yes it is True. I will Sir, I will contact the ministry asap and revert.”
