Don't sit on funds for spraying inputs- Farmers

Kumasi, March.11, GNA- The Ashanti Regional branch of the Ghana Cocoa, Coffee and Sheanut Farmers Association (GCCSFA) has complained about the practice where some District Agricultural Directors sit on funds meant for the loading and carting of insecticides to farming communities.

They said this often creates a situation where leaders of the spraying gangs have no choice but to demand from them money to cover the transportation cost of the inputs from the district capitals. They made the complaint at a day's meeting they held in Kumasi on Thursday to discuss ways of enhancing efficiency in the cocoa industry. Nana Kwame Amankwatia, the Regional Chief Farmer, noted with satisfaction the smooth manner the mass spraying exercise was carried out in the region last year.

He said there were now positive signs that there was going to be good crop yield in the region during this year's minor crop season. The Regional Chief farmer advised his colleagues to adhere strictly to traditional practices that had over the years helped Ghana to maintain the premium on its cocoa.