Cocoa farmers in Ashanti commend government

Cocoa farmers in the Ashanti Region have praised the government for keeping faith with cocoa farmers in the country through the constant increase in producer price of cocoa.

Addressing a press conference in Kumasi in response to the recent increases in producer price of cocoa, Nana Yaw Owusu Amankwatia, Ashanti Regional Chief Farmer of the Ghana Cocoa, Coffee and Shea-nut Farmers Association, said cocoa farmers were overwhelmed with the percentage increase in the producer price announced by the government.

The press conference was attended by district chief farmers and queens in all cocoa growing areas in the region.

Nana Amankwatia said the increase in price coupled with the introduction of hybrid seedlings, fertilizers, mass spraying exercise and quality assurance had boosted cocoa production and sale in the country.

The government recently announced a new producer price for cocoa from 75 Ghana cedis to 102 Ghana cedis per bag.

Mr Edmund Bisiw, Senior Manager, Quality Control Division of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) said cocoa production in the Ashanti region increased from 54,000 metric tones in 2002 to 123,000 metric tones last year and commended cocoa farmers in the region for their hard work which had resulted in that output.

He however appealed to farmers in the region to take advantage of the supply of high quality fertilizers and apply them on their farms to ensure high yields.

Mr Bisiw advised the farmers against the use of unapproved chemicals on their farms since that affected the quality of cocoa produced in the country.