Cocoa farmers receive 1.2 million seedlings
The government has provided 1.2 million cocoa seedlings for farmers to augment other interventions to help Ghana recapture its position as the world’s leading producer of cocoa.
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It represents a more than 100 per cent increase over last year’s 570,000 seedlings offered to cocoa farmers.
Ghana is currently the world’s second largest producer after Cote d’Ivoire.
The Cocoa Officer in charge of the Atwima Nwabiagya District in the Ashanti Region, Mr Kingsley Owusu-Appiah, announced this at the inauguration of three rural service centres in Nyinahin, Tepa and Sankore in the Ashanti Region last Saturday.
The 40,000 Euro facilities are to become one-stop shops for farmers to acquire internationally approved products and equipment to enhance productivity.
It is being championed by Cocoa Merchants, a licensed buying company; AGRO-ECO, project managers, and Olam Processing Company, which processes about 70 per cent of locally produced cocoa to the world markets.
The three companies entered into a relationship in 2014 to provide a comprehensive package for farmers, from production to marketing, as well as their well-being, an initiative of Mondelez International Cocoa Life Programme.
Other measures
Mr Owusu-Appiah said other government interventions included subsidising fertiliser, provision of approved insecticides and sending qualified extension officers to address challenges faced by the farmers.
Those measures, he explained, were aimed at improving the quality of the product and enhancing Ghana’s credibility as a producer of good and high-yielding cocoa.