Joseph Coomson
3 August 2005
Low cocoa production has been seen as the consequence of the inadequate coverage of all cocoa-producing areas, with fungicides, especially in the Western Region of Ghana.
Cocoa production for the 2004/2005 cocoa season fell significantly from the 700,000 tonnage level in 2004 to 550,000.
In terms of export earnings, cocoa earnings for the first half of the year stood at $500.4 million, compared to $564.9 million for the first half of the year.
Speaking to The Business Chronicle yesterday, the Acting President of the national Cocoa, Coffee and Shea Butter Association (NCCSA), Nana Yiadom Boakyie Okokroko, Chief of Sefwi Awhiam, said the cocoa-spraying exercise was to be done on rotational basis, with the use of pesticides and fungicides.
But for a long period, Sefwi cocoa farmers have not experienced any fungicide spraying for the past two years, leading to an increase in black pod disease.
He was happy that the insecticide was being administered properly.
The President denied rumours that the low performance of cocoa was due to the curbing of smuggling of cocoa beans across the Ghana- Cote d Ivoire borders, due to the current political stability being experienced in Cote d'Ivoire.
Speaking on sheabutter and coffee, the acting president noted that buyers of the two commodities were killing farmers softly as they quote outrageous price for them.
He intimated that the Ghana Cocoa Board used to buy them and were not exploited as much as individual buying companies were doing now. "The ordinary farmer is placed at the vagaries of the producer buying companies."
He called on government to make production of coffee and sheabutter more lucrative for farmers who form more than half of the working population of Ghana.
Over 10,000 people are employed in the cocoa sector.
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