Children of cocoa farmers should benefit from scholarship

Kumasi, July 27, GNA - Madam Patricia Appiagyei, Chief Executive of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, has appealed to License Cocoa Buying Companies (LBCs) to ensure that children of cocoa farmers benefit from scholarship schemes instituted in the name of the cocoa farmers. She said it was regrettable that scholarships meant to support the children of cocoa farmers were diverted to benefit those whose parents had no cocoa farms.

In an address read for her at the 13th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Kuapa Kokoo Limited in Kumasi on Thursday, Madam Appiagyei urged the LBCs to educate their farmers on scholarships to enable them to take advantage of them and sent their children to school. She said cocoa farmers had played significant roles in the socio-economic development of the nation and there was the need for them and their families to benefit from initiatives by the government. Madam Appiagyei said the government wished to attain a million tonnes of cocoa production and that was why it had introduced a number of measures such as the mass spraying exercise, high tech cocoa seedlings and fertilizers.

She commended Kuapa Kokoo for providing social amenities in their areas of operation.

Mr P.C.K Buah, National President of the Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Union, said members would, for the first time, receive a dividend of 47,379 pounds this year from the Divine Chocolate Company in London. He urged members to increase production to ensure that the company obtained higher tonnage next season. Mr Alexander Balfour, Board Chairman of Divine Chocolate Company, said the company, which is owned by members of Kuapa kokoo, had been able to stand on its feet, hence the ability to declare that dividend to members who had the majority share in the company. He urged the management of the company to ensure that each of the 600,000 members received his share of the dividend.