High-Tech cocoa project is on pilot basis- Agric Director

Kuntanase (Ash), Aug. 29, GNA- Mr Alfred Amo, Bosomtwe-Atwima-Kwanwoma District Director of Food and Agriculture, has denied that the high-tech cocoa fertilizer project was for members of a particular political party.

He said the 1,000 farmers who were selected for the pilot project was not based on any political affiliation and that it would cover every cocoa farmer in the district at the end of the pilot programme. Mr Amo said this on Wednesday when he took delivery of 288 cartons of fungicides for the farmers involved in the pilot project, for the spraying of their farms after applying the fertilizer. He expressed fears that the mass cocoa spraying exercise in the district might be hampered as a result of lack of spare parts for the spraying machines.

Mr Amo said although there were enough spraying machines, the parts were not available on the market for replacement or maintenance and that this has affected the number of sprayers for the work. He appealed to the government to order the parts for maintenance of the spraying machines to ensure the success of the exercise. Mr Amo called on cocoa farmers to be present always on their farms when the spraying gangs go to their farms to ensure that they provide them with enough water to enable them to perform well.

He gave the assurance that enough insecticides had been released for the spraying of all cocoa farms in the district.