Accra:KNUST Students from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) have developed a new machine to improve the method of extracting cocoa beans, presenting an alternative to the traditional manual process.
According to Ghana Web, the students demonstrated their invention in a video shared on social media on October 13, 2026. The machine is designed to break open cocoa pods and separate the beans from the pod husks, a task typically done by hand by cocoa farmers and workers in the cocoa production industry.
This innovation offers a different approach to the conventional method, where workers traditionally use wooden clubs or machetes to crack open the pods and extract the beans. The process of breaking cocoa pods is crucial as it precedes the fermentation, drying, and preparation stages necessary for processing the beans.
Ghana is one of the leading cocoa-producing countries globally, with cocoa being a significant income source for farmers and a vital component of the national economy.