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11.02.2010 Agriculture

Abamkrom Cocoa farmers association inaugurated

11.02.2010 LISTEN
By GNA

Abamkrom Cocoa farmers association inaugurated
February 10, 2010
Abamkrom (E/R) Feb. 10, GNA - Dr F.M. Amoah, Executive Director of the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG), on Wednesday said the government and its agencies like the Ghana COCOBOD and CRIG were doing everything possible to ensure that Ghana increased its cocoa production.

He said it was projected that by 2012, cocoa production level would have reached one million metric tones up from the present 700,000 metric tones.

Dr Amoah was speaking at the inauguration of the Cocoa Farmers Association at a ceremony at Abamkrom in the West Akyem Municipality.

The association is the brain child of the African Trusteeship Foundation which aims at helping to reduce poverty in rural areas through socio-economic empowerment.

Dr Amoah said it was to improve the industry that certain interventions such as the mass spraying of cocoa, improved seedlings and fertilizers and the increase in producer prize of cocoa had been introduced.

He appealed to cocoa farmers to take advantage of those incentives to improve their cocoa farms by adopting good farming practices such as clearing of farms and also co-operate with extension officers.

Dr Amoah warned those engaged in the mass cocoa spraying exercise against diversion of pesticides that could act negatively against the attainment of the aims and objectives of the exercise.

Mr Ibrahim Moro Barko, Founder of the African Trusteeship Foundation, appealed to farmers in the area to take their work seriously and also go into commercial farming to produce more for export.

The Member of Parliament for Upper West Akyem, Mr Joseph Sam Amakwanor, presented two spraying machines valued at about GH¢1,000 to the association to assist farmers in spraying their farms.

GNA

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