Cocoa farmers attend forum to facilitate productivity

The Asante-Mampong Municipal Director of the Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Control Unit of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), has urged farmers to heed technical advice to help increase their crop yield and returns.

Mr Akwasi Amanfo Bio- Frimpong was speaking at a farmers’ forum held by the COCOBOD at Seniagya in the Sekyere East District to educate them on how to fight the swollen shoot disease.

Mr Bio-Frimpong appealed to farmers to accept to cut down infected trees to avoid the spread of the disease to other nearby farms.

Those who do this would receive compensation as well as cocoa seedlings and plantain suckers to replant their farms.

He also underlined the need for them to make sure that they clear their farms of weeds to aid gangs recruited for the cocoa mass spraying to carry out the job effectively.

Mr Bio-Frimpong encouraged the farmers to approach the Unit for support to remove mistletoe on their farms.

The District Cocoa Quality Control Officer, Mr E.A. Donkor, advised the participants to stick to the best practices to maintain the quality of the country’s cocoa.

They should also take their cocoa beans through proper fermentation and well dried them before they are sold to the licensed buying companies.

Mrs Emelia Kwateng-Acheampong of the Seed Production Unit at Jamasi, asked the farmers to contact the unit for improved and high yielding cocoa seedlings for planting.

Nana Akwasi Baafi, a farmer, who chaired the function, said the mass spraying exercise had brought huge relief to him.

Source: GNA