Assembly launches Cocoa rehabilitation fund

Koforidua (Eastern Region) 27 April ?99

The New Juaben Municipal Assembly has set aside 50 million cedis from its Poverty Alleviation Fund (PAF), to grant soft loans to 100 cocoa farmers to maintain their cocoa farms.

Under the project, the Assembly would provide beneficiary farmers with inputs and labour services for the spraying, brushing and refilling of their farms.

The Assembly decided to establish the project in view of the dwindling cocoa yields in the Municipality due to lack of labour to maintain the farms of the ageing farmers.

The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mr Emmanuel Adu Boateng, announced this on Sunday when he launched the Assembly's Common Fund "Cocoa Rehabilitation Project", at the Oyoko Cocoa Station near Koforidua.

He said the loans, which would attract 10 per cent interest, would be repaid in two years through the licensed/cocoa purchasing societies.

The project would be co-ordinated by the National Mobilisation Programme (NMP) with technical services to be provided by personnel of the Cocoa Services Division of the COCOBOD.

Mr Yaw Adu Gyamfi, Municipal Director of the NMP announced that 7,000 cocoa seedlings had been nursed in support of the project and urged the farmers to take advantage of the project.

The chief farmer of Jumapo, Opanyin Kwaku Dekpe, expressed concern about the increasing thefts of cocoa beans from farms.

He attributed this trend of affairs to the introduction of private cocoa purchasing companies that do not operate the "Akuafo Cheque" system.

The farmers appealed to the COCOBOD to include the Municipal area in the swollen shoot control programme, as in other parts of the region.