Ghana, the world's second largest cocoa producer has put in place a number of interventions and best agronomic practices which will almost double output of the chocolate ingredient within ten years.
Ghana's cocoa industry, touted as the nation's economic back-bone will receive a further boost in its average annual cocoa output to over 1 million tons from the current 800,000 tons, Noah Amenyah, Snr. Public Affairs Manager of the Ghana Cocoa Board, the regulator said in an interview in the capital, Accra.
Ghana, which lost its position as world's largest producer of the chocolate ingredient to Ivory Coast, its West African neighbour due to factors including diseased tree stock has distributed over 120 million free high yielding hybrid seedlings to farmers in the last two years to re-cultivate old farms and replace aged trees.
``The execution of the interventions started with the cocoa farm rehabilitation programme which sought to eradicate diseased cocoa farms as well as old unproductive farms. Such cocoa trees are being cut and replaced with early bearing, high yielding and disease tolerant hybrid seedlings,'' Amenyah said.
In the current 2016/17 crop year, COCOBOD is again nursing 60 million hybrid seedlings in over 332 nursery sites across all the cocoa regions for free distribution to cocoa farmers. We expect to add an estimated 50,000 hectares of cocoa farms this year. Thus 500,000 hectares would have been established within the ten-year period,'' Amenyah stated.
It is worth noting however, that the COCOBOD's impressive efforts aimed at increasing production and creating sustainable jobs for farmers and the youth are being undermined by the activities of some business concerns and individuals both local and foreign.
These groups sometimes work through Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) who undertake similar ventures of raising cocoa seedlings in some cocoa growing areas for distribution to farmers at a cost, this underscores the profit-making motive of such organizations and the individuals involved,'' Amenyah added.
``It is a great source of worry,'' Amenyah said. ``Farmers need not incur the cost of seedlings, we have the Cocoa Health and Extension (CHED) and Seed Production Division which produces free seedlings,'' he said.
``This is the reason for which COCOBOD encourages farmers to source their early bearing and high yielding seedlings from respective Cocoa Health and Extension (CHED) and Seed Production Division nurseries sites,'' he said
``We don’t only supply free seedlings to farmers but also have a holistic program which provides free fertilizers to improve soil fertility and free mass spraying exercise against pests”. The Mass Spraying Programme has also seen massive improvement in its structure and form over the past years, he stated.
Of great concern is ageing cocoa farmers, poor road network in cocoa-growing areas and access to education. COCOBOD has therefore introduced the Youth-in-Cocoa Initiative, Cocoa Roads Rehabilitation programme, COCOBOD Child Education Support Programme and also improved upon the cocoa farmers’ wards’ Scholarship Scheme as a way of addressing these issues while at the same time, promoting cocoa sustainability issues.
Ghana Cocoa Board's modules and programmes have been carefully developed to reduce cost to farmers and improve livelihood of farmers,'' Amenyah said.
Source: Chris Joe Quaicoe/ email: [email protected]
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Let me make it clear to all that Amenyah is not behind this story. Amenyah has not granted any interview. I want to say authoritatively that Amenyah has not granted any interview with the writer or any body on the subject matter. This story was planted in the media by opuni himself.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THIS AND AN APE?
Amenyah does not know what he is saying.He is siting in Accra and saying all sort of things.Where is the mass cocoa spraying.where is the free fert,and the other interventions he is talking about.Let me tell Amenyah that all what he is saying if he don,t know it was given to only party members,if he don,t he must ask his party chairmen across the country.
These ndc folks are funny and childish. What do they take Ghanaians for? Suddenly all the leaders of state institutions are 'advertising' themselves and the 'good' work done during their tenure in office. Unfortunately some of the media folks are leading that crusade. Onyame ahu mo!
All are lies. Where are the so call free cocoa nurseries. You have stolen monies meant for it and only doing media gimmick.Know that you are taking advantage of the poor farmers and God will not forgive. Mass Spraying is dead under your watch and God is watching.
Deal with the galamsey menace and the Chinese encroachment.
Too little too late. We are now in an evidence based performance evaluation mode It's clear cocoa production had fallen under your watch after hitting 1.0 million tonnes few years ago. You just have to go. Let me say it's criminal to allow such drastic drop in cocoa production.
How much was stolen from COCOBOARD during your tenure? Be prepared to account for all the ***barred word*** and the stealing that went on at COCOBOARD during your leadership. We know where all the bones are buried. Your connection with Lodina is well known. COCOBOARD executives can shred all the documents they want, we will still get them. We know about the corrupt quid pro quo loan schemes between COCOBOARD and some Private Cocoa Buying Agencies. The pesticides and other deals are all in our hands. Those corrupt foreign loan schemes will be exposed and punish anybody involved regardless. Go to hell and save us the agony of your corrupt shame. How come the president was directing people to come to you for money? Were you his personal banker?