Number Six (W/R)- COCOBOD is making frantic efforts to restore Ghana to her former glory of leading producer of cocoa in the world as it intensifies surveillance in all cocoa growing areas in the country.
Dr.Emmanuel Agyemang-Dwomoh,
Deputy Chief Executive (DCE) in charge of Agronomy and Quality Control at
COCOBOD, made this projection to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the third day
of Western South Region field tour of Cocoa farms at Number Six in the Samreboi
District.
He said, as part of the move, they had embarked
on rehabilitation of all cocoa farms in the country.
Ghana is the world’s second producer of cocoa
after La Cote D’Ivoire.
Dr.Agyemang-Dwomah said the Western South Region
used to produce one third of the total cocoa production in the country, but now
the Region was producing less.
He attributed the cause to the swollen shoot
disease, which is devastating trees in the affected areas.
Dr Agyemang Dwomoh hinted that currently,
COCOBOD was securing a loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to revamp
the affected areas and it had started the rehabilitation exercise in Western
South and Eastern Regions.
He also bemoaned that for some time now, the
number of extension officers kept dwindling.
The Executive Director, Cocoa Health and
Extension Division (CHED), at COCOBOD, Dr.Emmanuel Nii Tackie-Otoo also told
the GNA that as part of the move, it was also embarking on block and back to
back treatment.
Under the modality, he indicated that farmers
were compensated depending on their farm size and in some cases, land owners
are also compensated.
He said COCOBOD would ensure that all diseased
trees are removed with chainsaw and arboricide are cut to the surface to kill
the stumps.
He explained that temporal shade crops such as
plantain and other economic shade trees are planted and maintained for a period
of one year before hybrid seedlings are transplanted.
Dr Nii Tackie-Otoo said COCOBOD would maintain
the rehabilitated farms for two years before handing over the farms to the
farmers.
He advised Cocoa farmers to refrain from using
unapproved chemicals to fertilize their farms and adopt sound cultural
practices to produce quality Cocoa to meet international standards.
He said Ghana continues to remain the number one
on the world market in terms of best standards and appealed to cocoa farmers to
maintain that enviable record.
Source: Ghana News Agency