Berekum District Cocoa Farmers Ask to Increase Cocoa Production Through CocoaBod Mechanism at Jinijini.

Bono Regional Cocoa Health and Extension Division Organises Training Exercise for Cocoa Farmers in Berekum.

The Bono Regional Cocoa Health and Extension Division on Wednesday 29th/March 2023 organised a training session for the farmers in the Berekum Cocoa District.

The training drew several organised Cocoa farmers and Co-operatives Associations in the Berekum District from Fetentaa, Amomaso, Benkasa, Mpatasei, Jinijini, Nanasuano and other communities to be trained in the various stages of cocoa farming activities as farmers.

The Bono Regional Cocoa Extension Officer, Mr Stephen Asamoah took the farmers in all the processes that Ghana CocoaBod is expecting from the farmers to undergo through training and have much knowledge in Pruning, Pollination, CODAPEC-HI-TECH and Cocoa Management Systems (CMS) to help increase the cocoa production yields in the country.

Speaking at the event, Mr Stephen Asamoah commended the traditional leaders in Berekum traditional area for protecting their lands from galamsayers activities and believes if the farmers will adhere to the training given to them will go a long way to help their farming business to produce quantities of cocoa tons in the country.

He added that CocoaBOD is now serious in the Cocoa production business in the country, hence has formed a task force to deal with unscrupulous individuals and farmers who may attempt to steal free cocoa inputs such as fertilisers, agro-chemicals, fuel and among others given to the farmers for free and resell them to retail outlets.

The DCE of Berekum West, Hon. Dominic Oppong commended the Cocoa Extension Officers for their hard work to support the government's efforts to ensure cocoa production yields in the collaboration with the farmers to help bring progress in the cocoa business in the country.

He said government interventions such as free distribution of seedlings to the farmers, free fertilisers, free chemicals,  88 mass cocoa sprayers that is gangs sprayers and 24 co-operative associations are helping the progress of cocoa production in the District.

The Berekum West 2018 District Best Farmer, Mr Augustine Opoku, also advised that farming is a lucrative venture and should not be treated as bad therefore urged all Ghanaians, especially the youth to venture into farming since there are a lot of returns one may gain in doing farming as a business.

The Chief of Jinijini, Nana Tutu Baffour Asare I, also explained that the training given to the farmers by the Cocoa Health and Extension officers will help the farmers to boost production in their cocoa business and tasks the farmers to apply all the mechanisms given to them during the training.

 He also advised the farmers never to relent in their work but should be truthful to the cocoa-purchasing clerks so that they will get support from them whenever there is a hard time in their lives they will always get support from the clerks.

On his part, the Berekum District Cocoa Health ans Extension Division Officer, Mr. Martin Andoh urged his colleague extension officers to work hard in the District to help achieve the target set for the District.

He again added that, the district cocoa task force comprising of the Police, NIB, Extension Officers and others will ensure that the free fertilizers, agro chemicals, fuel, and others distributed by the government and CocoaBod will be protected accordingly to prevent the illegal sale of free farm inputs supply by the government.

Source: Alrich24newsgh.com/ Opamago Paparichy