Ghana Signs Agreement With European Union

Accra, Ghana (PANA) - Ghana and the European Union on Friday signed a 100- million-Euro Memorandum of Understanding for the development of the cocoa industry.

The agreement was signed by Richard Kwame Peprah, Minister of Finance and Charles Brook, Head of Delegation of the European Commission.

Under the memorandum, 7.6 million Euro or 21 billion cedis, will be used to support and control the Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease (CSSD).

An amount of 825,000 Euro or 2.3 billion cedis will be made available to support the Cocoa Research Institute at Tafo.

The project will concentrate on the development of resistant cocoa varieties against major diseases, sound environmental control methods against capsid, a cocoa tree disease, and the re-establishment of cocoa farms in former cocoa areas.

The amount will also be used to eradicate approximately 45 million trees infected with the virus and pay grants to farmers as compensation for harvest losses and replanting.

Government, on its part, will contribute 55 billion cedis towards the project.

Other components of the memorandum include the intensification of hybrid seed production with assistance from the Dutch Development Organisation(CEDEP) and Co-operative Cocoa Farmer's Association to participate in the internal buying of cocoa.