Issues of marriage breakups base on ‘non-performance’ from men will soon be over as Ghana’s own cocoa is found to contain aphrodisiac properties.
Based on this aphrodisiac property, the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) has developed cocoa bitters, which contain higher aphrodisiac properties.
The bitters have been tested and proven to be safe for consumption by the Center for Plant Medicine Research at Akuapem Mampong, Member of Parliament for Offinso South, Mr Issac Yaw Opoku, has disclosed.
The Offinso South legislator made the disclosure when he made the statement on the floor of parliament on the need to utilise Ghana’s cocoa by-products as a source of raw material for rural industrialisation.
Mr Opoku indicated that wine, whisky, brandy, jam, vinegar, marmalade, liquid soap, soft soap, bitters, pectin animal feed, fertilizer and anti-oxidants are all products that have been derived from cocoa waste materials.
He said wine, whisky and brandy for instance, are products made from a cocoa waste material known as Sweatings, which is extracted from the fresh cocoa beans and its rich in sugar, minerals and vitamins. Other products derived from Sweatings include jam, vinegar and marmalade, he indicated.
Again, Cocoa Pod Husk (CPH), another waste material form cocoa can also be used as animal feed, the MP said and indicated that CRIG in collaboration with the Animal Science Departments of the University of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and the Animal Research Institute, in a livestock feeding trial and concluded that CPH can constitute up to 15% of ration for poultry, 25% for pigs and up to 60% for sheep, goat , rabbit and dairy cattle.
He also said that the same CPH is a traditional source of alkali that can be used in the manufacturing of liquid soap, soft soap and fertilizers.
Other by-products which include cocoa nibs, powder and shell produce anti-oxidants which is extracted using methanol, petroleum ether and chloroform as solvents.
Mr Opoku indicated that all these products have also been assessed and found to be commercially viable and CRIG has also reported that the products have promising internal and external markets.
Unfortunately, a potential of 2,875,174 metric tons of CPH and 557,869.6 metric tons of Sweatings go to waste every ten years due to the underutilisation of these by-products.
He indicated that aside the money that can be derived from these by-products, employment is also one of the gains Ghana stands to make if it utilises these by-products well.
He said the commercial utilisation of the by-products can lead to the setting up of small factories to generate income and make cocoa farming attractive to the youth.
He identified one of the problems why such by-products have not been turned into money as the lack of link between research and industry.
He said valuable research findings have remained and continue to remain in thesis, annual reports, scientific journals and the like. Meanwhile, most of these findings represent substantial business opportunities.
He, therefore, called on the country to make conscious efforts to ensure that there is a strong linkage between research and industry.
“Government must ensure that research institutions are adequately resourced to enable them conduct quality research to drive local industries in the country.”
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Ghana’s Cocoa has aphrodisiac properties -MP
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