Over 1000 farmers in the Birim North District have received free cocoa seedlings as a start up to cultivate their cocoa farms.

During the distribution, Mr Raymond Nana Damptey, the Birim North District Chief Executive, said until the recent discovery of oil, cocoa had led the economic development of the country.

He said it is in light of this that the agriculture department of the District Assembly nursed over 1,089,500 cocoa seedlings and distributed to farmers to establish cocoa farms in the District.

Nana Damptey said the seedlings were expected to plant over 990.45 hectares (2400.76 acres).

He urged the farmers to plant the cocoa seedlings and not to go and dump them in their farms.

Mr. Damptey asked the farmers to report to the Department of Agriculture all the problems that they were likely to encounter in the cultivation of the seedlings for immediate solutions.

He entreated other farmers in the District who had not heard of the project to visit the Department of Agriculture for registration and collection of seedlings.

The farmers expressed their joy at receiving the seedlings and most of them promised to take proper care of the seedlings t enable them benefit from it.