Cocoa farmers school established to upgrade skills
Agroecom Ghana Ltd (AGL), a leading cocoa purchasing company in the country, has established a Farmer Business School (FBS) in cocoa-growing communities in the country.
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The project, which is the first of its kind in the country, is aimed at equipping farmers with skills in reading and writing; bookkeeping; records keeping of farm data such as cost and types of inputs and labour cost; assessing profitability of their business and understanding modern trends in farming among others.
The FBS was established in April this year and has an enrolment of 10,000 farmers, made up of 3,700 women and 6,300 men, from cocoa-growing districts in the country who are benefitting from its teachings. The farmers are also taught skills in planning activities, budgeting and other topics.
There are no designated schools as such, but the farmers are met either on their farms or are made to congregate in nearby communities of their choice where they are taught by teachers who have been well trained in adult education.
The farmer business school initiative is a collaborative venture between the AGL and Nestlé S.A., a transnational food and drink company. Also involved in the initiative are three chocolate manufacturing companies including Lindt of Switzerland, Hershey in the United State of America and Toms Confectionery Group of Denmark.
The Operations Manager of Agroecom Ghana Ltd, Mr Ebenezer Mensah, said the training the farmers were receiving would not only enhance their productivity but improve their levels of efficiency as well.
He urged farmers involved in the training regime to take the courses seriously in order to maximise its benefits as it would contribute to further development of the cocoa industry in the country.
Mr Mensah made the statements as he led a management team from AGL and some foreign partners on a visit to one of the farmer business schools in the Sefwi Wiawso District in the Western Region.
The Education Programme Director of IBIS, a non-governmental Danish educational advocacy organisation, Mr Zack Sulemana, said it was incumbent on stakeholders in the cocoa sector the world over, to help cocoa farmers improve their livelihoods and increase production as a means of sustaining the industry.
Distribution of kits
The visit to the farm also coincided with a presentation of farming start-up kits to the last batch of selected youth in cocoa-growing areas in the country.
The kits presented included wheelbarrows, gas stoves, gas cylinders, hair dryers and accessories, carpentry and masonry tools among other items to various categories of craftsmen and women among them.
The entire cost of training and provision kits is estimated to cost GH¢300,000.