COCOBOD launches insecticide to fight pests
The Director of the Cocoa Health Extension Division (CHED) of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Mr Samuel Amponsah, has affirmed the government’s readiness to help cocoa farmers in the country increase their yield of cocoa per acre.
This, according to him, will ensure the attainment of the highest yield for both the farmer and all other stakeholders in the cocoa industry locally and abroad.
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He said some of the measures being put in place towards attaining that feat were the production of the best agro-chemicals for cocoa farmers, the supply of fertiliser and training the farmers on best farming practices, among others.
Mr Amponsah said this when the Cocoa Health Extension Division launched a new insecticide called “Transform Akate” at a durbar attended by the chiefs and people of Antoakrom in the Amansie West District of the Ashanti Region.
The launch brought together various local and international stakeholders in the cocoa industry such as Dow/Corteva Company Limited and AgriPlus Limited, manufacturers and distributors of “Transform Akate”.
All cocoa farmers in the country are expected to be given the new product for free to provide a lasting and effective antidote to the Capsid bug, locally called “Akate”, that invades and wreaks havoc in most cocoa farms in the country.
Public education
To achieve the overall objective of increased cocoa per hectare yield, the safety of farmers and the environment, as well as high patronage, CHED has begun a nationwide public education of the cocoa farmers on the benefits of the chemical and the best ways to use it.
Mr Amponsah was optimistic that the introduction of “Transform Akate” would lead to the production of high quality cocoa beans.
Collaboration
The Business Director of Dow/Corteva Company Ltd in charge of West, North and Central Africa, Mr Alain Pescay, pledged his company’s readiness to partner all players in the cocoa industry in the country to ensure improvement in the quantity and quality of cocoa.
For his part, the Sales and Marketing Manager of AgriPlus Ltd, Mr Stephen Appiah Yeboah, said the “Transform Akate” would be available on the market next year and would be distributed nationwide.
Nana Samuel Yaw Akuoko, the Ashanti Regional Chief Farmer, commended COCOBOD and its partners for the initiative and urged the cocoa farmers to cooperate with CHED and their extension agents in the distribution and usage of the product.