Stephen Odoi-Larbi
3 December 2008
Female cocoa farmers in the Wassa Atobiase, in the Western Region, have appealed to the government to come to their aid, by making credit facilities easier and accessible.
This, they said, would help expand their activities to produce more in subsequent seasons. According to the cocoa farmers, they lacked funds to hire labour to work on their farms, especially during the crop season, which makes it impossible for them to produce more.
"I have a very big cocoa farm, but because I don't have money to hire labourers to work in it, most of the cocoa are not harvested, and are left in the bush to rot. The little that I'm able to do by myself, is what I feed on till the next harvest season," noted Ante Amoh, one of the women cocoa farmers this reporter spoke to.
She commended government for its efforts to increase cocoa production in the future, but said, "That dream will not be a reality, if government fails to provide us credit facilities."
Another farmer also complained bitterly over the government's inability to repair the bridge on River Subiri, that linked Ankaako to Atobiase and its surrounding villages, a situation, she said, which made it impossible for them to cart their goods, when there is a heavy downpour of rain.
"That bridge is very dear to us and the surrounding villages. When it breaks down, economic activities cease. It has been there for decades, and it must be changed. When there is fault, we have to carry our goods on our heads, walk through the river, if the level is low, or swim to the other side, before one can reach his or her destination. Others, who are unable to do it, are left at the banks of the river to their own fate," said Adwoa Pokuwaa.
When this reporter visited the bridge, it was in a dilapidated state, which needed to be changed, to help save the communities that lie beyond it.
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