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Scientists from the Cocoa Research Institute (CRIG), COCOBOD's scientific research arm, based in Tafo, will join forces with the Volcani Center's scientist on the various processes that will eventually lead to a cure for CSSVD and the effective control of its disease. vector. They will continue to work together on ways to improve the yields of cocoa farms in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way.
The Volcani Center, established in 1921, has been called the world's best agricultural research center. The success of this collaborative scientific research effort will have a profound impact on local cocoa production and that of the entire sub-region of cocoa-producing countries, which, like Ghana, have also been affected for years by the CSSVD.
The memorandum of understanding was signed today on behalf of COCOBOD by its chief executive, the Hon. Joseph Boahen Aidoo and on behalf of the Volcani Center, by Professor Eli Fenerman at a ceremony at the Volcani Center in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Expressing during the short ceremony, the Hon. Joseph Boahen Aidoo emphasized the importance of quickly finding a lasting cure for the disease. Not doing so poses a major challenge to the survival of the cocoa sector.
He cited the example of the witch blossom that ravaged large cocoa farms in Brazil and allowed the pioneer of cocoa production to become a net importer of cocoa from other countries.
L & # 39; Hon. Aidoo was of the opinion that, given the data and expertise of the CRIG and the capabilities of the Volcani Center, this collaboration would go a long way towards helping Ghanaian cocoa farmers and the cocoa industry in general. .
For his part, Professor Eli Fenerman said that the Center had collaborated with many institutions to find solutions to the problems of agriculture and that he thought that this collaboration would certainly contribute to improving the productivity of cocoa so to support the chocolate industry, which he describes as a fan.
At the top of the list, the collaboration between COCOBOD and the Volcani Center goes beyond the search for a cure against the CSSVD and an effective control of the vector of the disease. Scientists will unite their efforts and look for ways to optimize cocoa nutrition, irrigation and pollination, as well as improve the health and resilience of cocoa seedlings through biocharbon solutions. nursery and during planting;
They will pay particular attention to the creation of integrated pest management solutions for pest control, especially pathogen-carrying pests and the pathogens they carry. Scientists will develop climate and pest resistant cocoa strains with favorable aromatic and health profiles.
Other topics of mutual interest such as integrated shading / irrigation solutions, post-harvest processing and storage, reduction of post-harvest losses are also part of the collaboration.
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