Edmond Gyebi
26 April 2004
Sunyani — The Sunyani Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Ignatius Baffuor Awuah, has warned the mass cocoa spraying gangs to refrain from discriminating against farmers, based on their affiliations.
According to him, some of the sprayers identified the farmers by their political affiliations and served only their favorites.
Based on the myriads of complaints and reports from the farmers, the MCE advised them to stop charging lorry fares and demanding food from the farmers, before and after the spraying exercises.
"Due to the bad conduct of the gangs, the government has been criticised on so many occasions about this mass cocoa spraying exercise, which must not be so," he said.
Mr. Awuah made these remarks at a farmers' education forum on the Cocoa Diseases and Pest Control programme (CODAPEC) organised by the Sunyani Municipal Assembly in Sunyani.
According to the MCE, the government had realised the importance of the cocoa industry and mapped out strategic plans to boost the industry, first by the 'mass cocoa spraying exercises' against black pod diseases and the introduction of the "high tech" cocoa fertilizer to increase productivity.
According to Mr. Awuah, the Sunyani municipal alone had 6,000 bags of high tech.fertilizer last year, and the farmers were showing more interest.
He debunked the allegation that the increase in cocoa production last year was as a result of smuggling from Cote d'Ivoire and added that, the Sunyani municipality which is nowhere near the Cote D' Ivoire border had almost a 100% increase in production.
The farmers commended the government for the mass cocoa spraying initiative, but urged it (government) to monitor the activities of the spraying gangs and their officers, in the interest of the nation.
According to them, some cocoa officers and the gangs stole and sold the spraying machines and the chemicals.
The Sunyani Municipal best farmer, Nana Kwame Adama, urged the government to recruit labourers for the aged farmers and provide them with vehicles as was done in the era of Dr. Hilla Limann.
He called on the financial institutions to grant loans to farmers, and in time, to enhance their farming activities.
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