Cocoa Spraying Starts This Week

The government has voted 278 billion cedis for the mass spraying of cocoa this year, Mr Ebenezer Kwasi Gyasi, National Co-ordinator of the mass cocoa spraying exercise, announced at Nkawie in Ashanti Region last week.

Speaking at a meeting with chief farmers and sprayers, he said the exercise would start this week at Nkawie, Offinso and Mankranso, areas worst affected by black pod disease.

Mr Gyasi said there were some lapses last year such as inadequate spraying machines, shortage of petrol and lack of safety equipment for the sprayers, which have been addressed.

He advised the spraying gangs not to rush with the exercise and to use 60 sachets of fungicide per day.

He appealed to farmers to weed their farms and prune their cocoa trees to ensure easy and free movement of the sprayers.

Mr Charles Yeboah, Atwima District Chief Executive, warned that he would not spare anyone who would attempt to thwart the exercise.

Opanin Kwame Ndwamu, Atwima District Chief Farmer, expressed the farmers' appreciation to the government for finding solutions to the lapses last year. He appealed to the farmers to lend their support to the government in its effort at sustaining the cocoa industry.