Cocoa production on the decline

The production of one of Ghana’s leading cash crop earner, cocoa, is on the decline.

In an interview with TV3’s Daniel Lartey in Accra on Thursday, July 11, 2013, Clement Kofi Humado, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, disclosed that the production of cocoa declined from one million metric tons to 800,000 in the first quarter of 2013 though “it is still enough for our international trade,” he adds.

He blamed the development, nonetheless, on strict adherence to international protocols Ghana has subscribed to.

“So because of that, [even] the forestry sector recorded negative growth not because they cannot grow but because we want to adhere to [the] international protocols,” he told Daniel Lartey.

The Member of Parliament for Anlo Constituency, however, indicated that measures have been put in place to surmount the challenges.

“We will need to re-adjust our budget, engage more with our development partners and tailor our programmes towards the challenges,” he said.

“And by also engaging the private sector, we should be able to overcome,” he assured.