Akim Oda (E/R), Nov. 26, GNA - Mr Albert Akomaning, Oda District Cocoa Officer (DCO), has said that it was safer to pluck any cocoa pod infected with "Anonom", the Black Pod Disease, in the course of working on the cocoa farms. Mr Akomaning was explaining in an interview, at Akim Oda in the Birim Central Municipality of the Eastern Region on Tuesday, the safest means for cocoa farmers to increase their yields. He noted that cocoa trees infected with the "Anonom" disease yielded smaller quantity when harvested.

According to him, the farmers needed to prune the branches of other trees that could disturb the cocoa tree and also clear unwanted trees, adding that the only relieve to the affected cocoa diseased tree, was to remove the contact tree by cutting it. The DCO stressed that this could be done during the rainy season to sustain the trees, since when done in summer the trees could perish. Mr Akomaning said the chemicals used for spraying cocoa farms, like the agronomy and CODAPEC were to ensure that the beans that were harvested were good. He said the Ghana Cocoa Board's Control Unit of the Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease (CSSVD) in the Eastern Region, periodically organised rallies for the farmers.

Mr Akomaning stated that it was at such rallies that the farmers had demonstration on specimens of swollen shoot virus disease symptoms, and how to improve their cocoa yields.