Mango farmers complain about continued disease spread

Mango farmers have complained about the bacterial black spot (BBS) disease attack on their crops, and called for urgent action to stop the spread.

The disease reportedly is ravaging mango farms, killing the trees and destroying yet-to-mature fruits.

It causes cracks in both the tress and the fruit, resulting in the latter getting rotten, and dropping from the tree prematurely.

The disease is said to be spreading in Kintampo, Techiman, Nkoranza and other mango-growing areas in Brong-Ahafo, as well as the Eastern Region.

About 80 per cent of mango plantation in Kintampo and its surrounding communities had come under attack.

Mr Kwasi Etu-Bonde, Managing Director of Sky-3 Farms at Kintampo, expressed concern about the development at a workshop to discuss access to financing by agribusiness operators and farmers from Ashanti and Brong-Ahafo in Kumasi.

It was organized by Trade Hub and African Partners Network - a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) project, to promote investment, trade competitiveness and economic growth in West Africa.

Mr Etu-Bonde, the 2011 National Best Mango Farmer, said the disease was so devastating that there was an urgent need for research scientists to get down to business to find a solution.

He warned that if allowed to persist, it would have dire consequences on the nation’s mango production.

He cited his personal experience, and said he could only harvest 37 metric tonnes of fruits from a 15-acre farm that before the disease attack was producing 120 metric tonnes.

Mr Etu-Bonde said it was important to have what he described as “commodity and community-based farmer technical support,” to provide training for farmers in specific commodities.

This, he noted, would ensure that farmers received practical skills to properly manage their farms.

Ms Pamela Okyere, an expert in the mango value chain, working under the project, said farmers in Ghana and two other countries in the sub-region - Burkina-Faso and Senegal, were benefiting from technical and marketing support to raise production and export.

She said Ghana was emerging as a diversified high-value processed mango producer and exporter to the European Union (EU) countries, and the local market.

Mr Jeffrey Povolny, Chief Of Party (COP) of Trade Hub, said his organization was engaging financial institutions to get better understanding of agribusiness and develop products tailored to its particular financing needs.

The project was also working with a team of financial advisers, to provide advisory services and train small and medium-scale businesses in planning, and how to meet banking requirements.