Ashanti Regional Chief Farmer refutes allegation

Nana Yaw Akuoko, Ashanti Regional Chief Farmer has said the Cocoa Disease and Pest Control (CODAPEC) mass spraying exercise was on course, and that fertilizers and other agro-chemical inputs were being supplied to farmers on schedule.

He, therefore, debunked recent media reports alleging that spraying gangs did not receive supplies anymore for the exercise, while farmers did not get the chemicals on time.

The chief farmer insisted that there was no iota of truth in that information, which was only a figment of the imagination of only a few farmers bent on politicizing issues, to create confusion and division among the various farmer associations.

Nana Akuoko, also the Chairman of the Cocoa, Coffee and Shea (COCOSHE) Farmers Association in the Ashanti Region, was speaking at a meeting with the Regional and District Farmers Associations in the Ashanti Region in Kumasi.

He said the CODAPEC, a government initiative, was going on smoothly, and had not suffered any hiccups, calling on farmers to treat such speculations as complete falsehood

“I am hopeful that the overall objective of increasing per hectare yield of the cash crop will be met,” he assured

The chief farmer explained that with the exception of cocoa farms planted less than 30 years ago and attacked by swollen shoot/black pod disease, all farms would be supplied the chemicals.

He disclosed that such affected farms had been earmarked for trees to be cut down and re-planted to aid disease control, adding “there is no need to apply fertilizer to diseased farms just to waste it.”

Nana Akuoko advised farmers to seek clarifications on issues they did not understand from the Association’s leadership and not rush to the press.

Mrs Faustine Asamany, the Ashanti Regional Manager of the Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED) of COCOBOD, said CODAPEC would continue to distribute ammonia fertilizers and other pesticides free of charge to farmers, to help raise production levels of the major export commodity.

She said Dr. Stephen Opuni, Chief Executive of COCOBOD had always led efforts to ensure that fertilizers and chemicals were supplied to farmers under CODAPEC.

The Regional Manager assured farmers that CHED would supply them with hybrid seedlings for planting, and advised them not to pluck pods from their farms for planting.