Cocoa Production Improvement Scheme Introduced To Farmers

An initiative to ensure sustainable cocoa production and improve the quality of the produce has been introduced to farmers in the Kakum area of theTwifo Hemang Lower Denkyira District of the Central Region.

The initiative aims at transforming cocoa production in the Kakum area by improving productivity, conserving biodiversity and securing a sustainable livelihood for cocoa farmers and their families.

It is being undertaken by OLAM Ghana Limited, a licensed cocoa buying company, and Conservation Alliance, a non-governmental organisation.

Under the initiative, farmers will be given the needed training that will enable them to produce quality cocoa, taking into consideration the environment, among other things.

Speaking at the launch, the Deputy Executive Director of the Cocoa Swollen Shoot and Virus Diseases (CSSVD) Division of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Dr George Opoku, said the initiative was geared towards conserving flora and fauna, improving the physical and chemical properties of the soil and reducing pollution and contamination of ground water.

He said apart from improving the ecosystem, the incorporation of trees was expected to yield long-term economic benefits to farmers.

Dr Opoku said as part of COCOBOD’s strategy to assist cocoa farmers to achieve maximum returns, a new extension system that is cost effective and professional had been put in place since January 2010.

In addition, he said, COCOBOD had instituted the cocoa rehabilitation scheme, under which cocoa farms that were denuded and more than 30 years were cut free of charge and farmers supplied with free high-yielding, early bearing hybrid cocoa seedlings.

He said farmers were also provided with free economic tree seedlings and plantain suckers to provide shade for the trees.

The Chief Executive Officer of Conservation Alliance, Mr Yaw Osei Owusu, said cocoa was a very important commodity which had been the backbone of Ghana’s economy since independence.

The Head of the Cocoa Division of OLAM Ghana Limited, Mr John Andre, said the company was present in 60 countries trading in cocoa, cashew, among other produce.

He said the company, which came to Ghana in 1993, was currently involved in the trading of cocoa, cotton and cashew, adding that the company, which was the third largest licensed buying company, was grateful to cocoa farmers