By James Esuon
Agona Swedru (C/R), Aug. 20, GNA -The government has elevated the Central Regional COCOBOD office from a managerial level to directorship, for greater cooperation, collaboration and coordination of cocoa operations, to increase annual production.
The newly promoted Central Regional COCOBOD office at Agona Swedru in the Agona West Municipality, has broadened stakeholder engagements in the cocoa sector to bring together key players, to ensure that policies and programmes outlined by the government became workable for improved cocoa yields.
Mr Samuel Addo Agyakwa, the Central Regional Director of the Ghana Cocoa Board who disclosed this to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Agona Swedru, said the current government upon its assumption of office, decided to expand the cocoa sector in the Region to enhance the living standards of farmers.
He said as part of the expansion processes, directors had been posted to all cocoa regions across the country to get other key divisions which operated in the cocoa sector to help champion new policies outlined to enhance operations in the industry.
Mr Agyakwa said the operations of the Board started from the Seed Production Unit (SPU) which supplied seeds to farmers, while the cocoa health extension division, also supported production activities.
The newly posted Director said the government saw the need to ensure that the agronomist Division of COCOBOD moved in to provide technical advice to enhance proper and effective coordination, while the Quality Control office offered grading of the beans produced to reduce chemicals and ensure higher quality seeds.
Mr Agyakwa said the European Union De-Afforestation Regulation also sought to give limitation of 15 acres cocoa farms with proper coordination and encouragement to farmers to increase more yields.
He said the COCOBOD had adopted comprehensive plans to harness regulated acreage of cocoa farms coupled with effective monitoring and support by the COCOBOD to help increase higher production instead of large farms without enhancement.
Mr Agyakwa hinted that the government was also committed to providing free fertilizers, chemicals and other relevant inputs to farmers as part of the incentives to motivate them to improve production.
The Director said as part of the policy, COCOBOD was giving assistance to absentee farmers to encourage them to regularly spray and main their farms.
Additionally, the government aside these measures to help farmers, had engaged the COCOBOD to offer ready support to well- established farmers to assist those who could not maintain their farms, to become productive, he said.
Mr Agyakwa said COCOBOD would invest more in farms whose owners for one or two reasons may had abandoned their farms to resuscitate them and that plans were far advanced to entice the youth, particularly young graduates with adequate support and other inputs to go into cocoa farming as part of the government’s efforts to attract youngsters into the sector.
Again, the government had adopted a strategic plan to encourage and support elites in the cities with huge capitals to get on board and invest heavily in the cocoa sector.
Mr Agyakwa said these measures formed part of the government’s determination to revamp the industry to help the nation to earn more foreign exchange and further better the lot of farmers.
GNA
Edited by Alice Tettey/ Christabel Addo