COCOBOD to replace 33% of cocoa trees : With improved, disease-resistant
The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) is to replace about 33 per cent of the country’s cocoa trees with hybrid seedlings that have high yields and are resistant to diseases, pests and harsh weather conditions.
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This follows a recent survey on the status of cocoa trees in the country, which revealed that about 23 per cent of national plant stock have passed the active fruiting age of 30, making it difficult for them to properly contribute to cocoa output.
The survey also estimated that another 10 per cent of cocoa trees had been infected by the deadly cocoa swollen shoot virus disease (CSSVD), bringing to 33 per cent the total number of the country’s cocoa trees that were not in their active fruiting stage due to ageing and diseases.
Given that the development has adverse effects on annual cocoa output, the Executive Director of the Seed Production Unit (SPU) of the COCOBOD, Dr Isaac Yaw Opoku, said the board had resolved to cut down and replace those low yielding trees with improved seedlings that were resistant to diseases and pests.
The replacement is to be done in the ongoing cocoa season, using COCOBOD’s free distribution of 50 million cocoa seedlings to registered farmers nationwide.
Giving the Daily Graphic an update on the exercise, the SPU Director said the distribution had already started in the three cocoa farming regions, with dozens of farmers receiving their consignments.
So far, Mr Opoku said over 8.5 million seedlings had been given out to the beneficiary farmers and hoped that the farmers would use them to replant unproductive farms, as well as farms affected by the CSSVD.
He explained that the seedlings could also be used to replant old moribund farms, farms affected by natural disasters such as bush fires and floods, as well as establish new farms and/or fill vacancies in existing farms.
On how the seedlings will be distributed, Mr Opoku said the interested farmers needed to register with the board and/or any of its agencies in the Eastern, Ashanti, Brong Ahafo or Volta regions to be able to benefit from the project.
He added that the distribution, which began last month, would run till August within which the board hoped to reach out to the entire cocoa farmer community.
Raising output
The production and free distribution of the 50 million cocoa seedlings was announced by the Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD earlier this year as one of the mechanisms the board will be using to raise the country’s annual cocoa output.
Cocoa output peaked at over one million tonnes in the 2010/2011 cocoa season before dropping to 850,000 tonnes in the 2014/2015 season due to the seasonal nature of the cocoa tree.
However, with the free distribution of the improved seedlings underway, Mr Opoku said national cocoa output could rise in the coming years, making it possible for Ghana to overtake neighbouring Cote d’Ivoire in the cocoa production business.
Cote d’Ivoire overtook Ghana as the world’s highest producer in 1978 and had since remained at the top.
It is currently aiming at harvesting 1.56 million tonnes this season compared to Ghana, which is aiming at 850,000 tonne.