The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has since 2017 created 918 new jobs for the youth in the Kwaebibirem District, says Mr Seth Antwi Boasiako, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of the area.

The jobs are made up of new hires for pruning, mass spraying and hand pollination.

“The cocoa industry has the capacity to employ a lot more youth in this district and beyond. There are many interventions being introduced by COCOBOD and those also present opportunities for employment in future, “he said.

Mr Seth Antwi Boasiako made these statements at a cocoa farmers’ rally held in Pramkese in the Kwaebibirem District of the Eastern Region on Thursday 29th August 2019.

The rally was held to host a delegation from COCOBOD led by its Chief Executive, Hon. Joseph Boahen Aidoo. He is on a three-day working tour of some cocoa communities in the Eastern Region.

The MCE encouraged the youth to focus on cocoa farming and protect the industry. He asked them to desist from galamsey because of its threat to the sustainability of the cocoa sector and the devastating impact it has on the environment.

“It should be a matter of importance for every youthful person to protect the cocoa industry and contribute to its development. It is the backbone of the country and this district as well, the MCE advised.

Nana Obeng Akrofi, a farmers’ representative on the Board of Directors of COCOBOD, who is also the Eastern Regional Chief Farmer of the Ghana Cocoa, Coffee and Shea nut Farmers Association (COCOSHE) advised farmers to fully adopt COCOBOD’s Productivity Enhancement Programmes (PEPs).

He pleaded with the farmers to heed the instructions of extension officers from the Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED) of COCOBOD to increase their capacity to reach record harvest volume.

The extension officers have been trained to guide farmer to practice the PEPs in the right ways and at the right times to boost yield volumes on their farmers and increase earnings from the sale of their harvest.

He said the farmers should always get their seeds from COCOBOD’s seed depots. They should allow for their farms to be pruned, apply fertilizer at the right time and in the right quantities and finally engage the youth as farm labourers to pollinate their farms.