info.afrindex.com
China-Africa Trade Information Service
info.afrindex.com
China-Africa Trade Information Service
Photo from Internet
The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) invests 600 million dollars in the cocoa sector industry to resuscitate the sector in Ghana, Mr Joseph Boahen Aidoo, the Chief Executive of COCOBOD announced on Tuesday.
He said the Board had almost finished negotiations to secure the credit facility from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to invest into the cocoa sector and increased national cocoa production.
Interacting with Journalists on the side-lines of his three-day field visit to some cocoa growing districts in the Brong-Ahafo region, Mr Aidoo said the money would be used to rehabilitate cocoa farms and undertake irrigation projects in some cocoa farms in the country.
The Chief Executive and other key and senior staff of the COCOBOD is embarking on a 10-day field visits to Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo and Northern Regions to interact with cocoa, cashew and coffee farmers, acquaint himself with their economic activities and the challenges facing the industry.
Mr Aidoo said more than 10,000 hectares of over-aged cocoa farm, which were yielding low pods, would be cut down and re-planted.He observed that the cocoa sector was confronted with daunting challenges such as pests and disease infestations, land use, and illegal mining activities and because of that many cocoa farmers in Brong-Ahafo and Eastern regions had switched to cashew and rubber production respectively.This, situation, Mr Aidoo noted, had reduced the country’s annual cocoa production, hovering around 745,000 metric tons.
That notwithstanding, the Chief Executive said COCOBOD had rolled out several interventions, including pollination, mass pruning exercise as well as deepened the cocoa mass spraying exercise to minimise pest infestation and insect attacks and to resuscitate the sector as well.
Cocoa industry is a sensitive area and any slightest thing which happened affects prices at the international level, meanwhile the media also pay more attention to report the industry.
