National Best Farmer Supports Floatation Of Produce Buying Company's Shares

Kumasi,(Ashanti Region) 23, Sept Nana Yaw Barima Soadwa, the 69-year-old 1994 'National Best Cocoa Farmer', has expressed support for the government's decision to float shares of the Produce Buying Company (PBC) to enable the workers and farmers to own the company. He, however, pleaded for a review of the proposed splitting of the PBC into smaller cocoa buying units as a way of enhancing efficiency. Nana Soadwa popularly known as "Nana Kookoo", who is also the District Chief Farmer of Fianko-Kasapin, observed that any increase in the number of companies engaged in the internal marketing of cocoa could lead to further decline in the quality of cocoa beans produced by the country. He was speaking to the Ghana News Agency in Kumasi. The Best Farmer award winner noted that competition among the various cocoa buying companies has led to a situation where quality control standards are ignored. Nana Soadwa was critical of the operations of the private companies saying they lack the necessary inputs for efficient performance. He called on the government to take firm measures to deal with those who use unapproved weighing scales.