Cocoa farmers in Sunyani District achieve record production

Cocoa farmers in the Sunyani District area of the Produce Buying Company Limited (PBC) have recorded their highest production levels of quality cocoa beans in 30 years.

According to Mr Apraku Debrah, Sunyani District PBC Manager, the company bought 61,831 bags of cocoa beans from farmers in the area in the last crop season, an unprecedented success record in recent times.

Addressing cocoa farmers at a durbar in honour of Nana Opoku Danso, the nominated Sunyani West District Cocoa farmer at Odumase, Mr Debrah said the cocoa beans bought from the farmers met international standards and none was rejected.

He commended the farmers for their hard work and gave the assurance that the PBC would continue to supply them with fertilizers and other logistics that would enable them to increase production.

Mr Antwi Adjei, Brong-Ahafo Regional Manager, Cocoa Health Extension Division of the COCBOD, explained that his outfit was yet to receive 300,000 bags of fertilizer from the company’s headquarters to be distributed among cocoa farmers in the region.

The division has already taken inventory and measurement of the various cocoa farms, he said, adding that the fertilizers would be distributed shortly on arrival.

Mr Adjei said the Division had received information that some farmers applied the cocoa fertilizers on their vegetable farms, warning that any culprit would not be spared.

Mrs Agnes Kusi, Sunyani West District Chief Executive, emphasized that the government was rolling out a number of interventions to encourage farmers to increase cocoa production.

The interventions are the fertilizers, wellington boots, cutlasses, spraying machines and the ongoing mass spraying exercise in some of the largely cocoa growing communities.

Mrs Kusi said the district assembly would augment the efforts of the government to meet their needs.

Nana Danso, 74, the 1997 National Best Cocoa Farmer, thanked the farmers in the district, the PBC and the District Assembly for the honour and advised the farmers to consider cultivating cashew and coffee, as well.