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The Ghana Cocoa Council (COCOBOD) should provide services to farmers to enable them to grow and prosper while increasing agricultural yields.
The provisions come after the successful introduction of manual pollination and the size of cocoa farms across the country.
Joseph Boahen Aidoo, CEO of COCOBOD, who revealed this information, said the cost-effective services would be organized in such a way that the market would be profitable.
"Services such as pruning, fertilizer application, weeding and manual pollination. We want all these elements to be communicated to farmers by private service providers to make cocoa farming a business, "he said.
He wants farmers to come together to form cooperatives within COCOBOD so that they can send them various service delivery models and inputs, noting that COCOBOD has engaged with private companies to provide services to farmers .
Speaking at the national launch of farmers' cooperatives in the cocoa sector in Kumasi, Aidoo said that COCOBOD, through the CHED, was working to facilitate the registration of farmer badociations in sustainable societies that would act on behalf of their members for their mutual benefit.
According to him, cooperatives would help farmers adopt many productivity improvement programs (PEPs) implemented independently by COCOBOD.
Farmer cooperatives can plan programs and invite CHED officials to raise awareness of new trends in extension services to improve the productivity of their farms, said COCOBOD CEO, adding that farmers could also receive training and technical recommendations on farming practices to produce more land area.
Aidoo said cooperatives would once again help synchronize producer group activities to align with COCOBOD's operational calendar, saying cooperatives would help producers become self-sufficient in cocoa production and management. cocoa culture with an entrepreneurial vocation.
Currently, the CHED has identified 1,342 badociations / groups / cooperatives, of which 512 are cooperatives fully registered with the Cooperatives Department, while COCOBOD continues efforts to help the remaining badociations to register their cooperatives.
Vice Minister of Agriculture in charge of perennial crops, George Oduro, revealed that research had revealed that more than 3 million people were working in the cocoa sector.
"This indeed says that cocoa is the backbone of the country's economy. When the government of nuclear power plants came to power in 2017, the cocoa sector was experiencing start-up problems and gradually the Ministries of Agriculture as well as COCOBOD approach them one after the other. other, "he said.
He went on to explain that COCOBOD was bringing new machines to help herbicide farmers and congratulated COCOBOD management for its initiatives.
– Daily guide
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