Over 10 million hybrid cocoa seedlings have been freely distributed to farmers across the Eastern Region as part of efforts to raise the crop’s production level.
The Cocoa Health Education Division (CHED) of the Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod), spearheading the distribution has targeted to supply 60 million high-yielding seedlings to cocoa growers nationwide the nation during this year’s planting season.
Mr. Kwadwo Osei, Deputy Regional Manager of the Cocobod told farmers’ at Asubone-Rails, near Nkawkaw which attracted more than 600 farmers and provided the platform to discuss ways of increasing cocoa production in the area.
Mr. Osei urged the farmers to support and cooperate with the district task force, set up to oversee the distribution of inputs – agro-chemicals and fertilizers to them, adding that the Cocobod was determined to ensure that the supply of these inputs were done in a more open, fair and transparent manner.
He advised the farmers to properly apply the agro-chemicals to achieve the intended outcomes – control the black pod and capsid diseases as well as raise crop yield.
Mr. Sampson Osei Appiah, Kwahu West Municipal Chief Farmer, advised participating farmers to cut down cocoa trees infected by the swollen shoot disease and to replace these with hybrid seedlings and appealed to the government to include the Kwahu Nsabaa-Asubone Rails-Akadewaso-Akoese road, which is in bad shape, under the cocoa roads rehabilitation project.
