COCOBOD STRATEGIZES FOR IMPROVED NATIONAL COCOA PRODUCTION

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 Dr. Francis Kofi  Oppong addressing the AGM
The Ghana Cocoa Board, COCOBOD, has already started some key social service interventions in cocoa growing communities as part of the long term strategies of ensuring sustainable increased cocoa production in the country.

  One such important measures is the formation of youth in cocoa production clubs in some of the rural areas to attract and encourage the youth to take up cocoa farming. 

This will help to augment and later replace the aging and retiring farmers. COCOBOD will support the youth cocoa farmers with inputs as incentives while traditional and community leaders have also been urged to readily release land to these interested young people to venture into cocoa production. 

A Deputy Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD, Dr. Francis Kofi Oppong made this known at the 21stAnnual General Meeting of Kuapa Kokoo Limited in Kumasi.


The Annual General Meeting was attended by delegates from the over one thousand societies of Kuapa Kookoo across the country. 

The Deputy COCOBOD CEO disclosed that his outfit is either constructing new schools or rehabilitating old dilapidated ones with libraries and reliable potable water sources in some of the cocoa growing communities to make formal basic education easily accessible to wards of cocoa farmers. 

This is one key strategy of addressing the problem of child labour in cocoa production. Dr. Oppong emphasized the fact that children can still help in cocoa production, just that parents must ensure that such children are not made to undertake work that can compromise their personal development and education.

 Touching other measures being implemented by COCOBOD to increase Ghana’s cocoa output in the short term, Dr. Oppong announced that the 50 million hybrid cocoa seedlings released free of charge to farmers during the ending cocoa season has been increased to about 70 million seedlings in the next season after realizing that the 50 million seedlings were inadequate. 

Similarly, a total of one- point-nine million bags of granular fertilizer plus one million litres of liquid fertilizer have been made available to cocoa farmers at a discount, adding that the fertilizer is meant for only cocoa farms aged 30 years and below. 

Additionally, one-point-seven million hectares of chemicals have been released for distribution to the farmers. 

He indicated strongly that COCOBOD has not authorized the collection of Voter ID Cards from the farmers before they can access the production inputs.

 However, the distribution officials could rely on certain important information on the Voter ID Cards in cases where the particular farmer is unable to provide the Pass Book. 

It should however not be taken away by anybody and therefore asked any farmer whose Voter ID Card has been taken away to report to the nearest Police station for the law to take its course. 

Dr. Oppong commended highly, Kuapa Kokoo, a licensed cocoa buying company, for achieving a total of 720 thousand bags of the produce, far more than the COCOBOD’s 640 thousand bags during the ending cocoa season and urged the company to do even more in the ensuing seasons.
  






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