Lifeline For Cocoa Farmers
A five-year project that is estimated to cost $40 million has been instituted to improve the income of cocoa farmers in the country.
The project, which is christened Cocoa livelihood programme, is aimed at improving the lives of farmers who are expected to double their incomes by 2013.
The programme, which is expected to commence in this year's cocoa season and end in 2014, would improve the incomes of 60,000 cocoa farmers and their households, which are located in 21 Districts in the Ashanti, Eastern, Brong-Ahafo, Eastern and Central regions.
The Cocoa livelihood programme is sponsored by the Ghana Cocoa Board, World Cocoa Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and 12 chocolate and cocoa companies.
It would be implemented through a consortium of five other organizations. The beneficiaries of the programme would be equipped with business skills.
Fifi Kwetey, Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, in a speech, noted that the programme is being implemented at “an opportune time when the Ghana Cocoa Board had been tasked to review its strategies to achieve the one million tonnes of cocoa production by 2012.”
He urged the COCOBOD to ensure that its activities do not duplicate the projects under the Cocoa livelihood programme.
Tony Fofie, Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD, noted that “to achieve the one million tonnes cocoa production target by 2012, the welfare of cocoa farmers would have to be improved tremendously.”
COCOBOD has initiated projects such as social security scheme, housing for cocoa farmers, feeder roads and solar powered boreholes, hospitals, clinics and solar street lights.
Mr. Fofie confirmed that his outfit would strive to support any measure that would motivate cocoa farmers to produce more cocoa.
He called for the surfacing of roads in cocoa growing areas.
Mbalo Ndiaye, the Programme Director of the Cocoa Livelihood Programme, stated that farmers would be assisted to access credit and planting materials from various institutions.