DDT for Mass-Spraying Smuggled, Farmers Call for Probe

Government's attempt to spray cocoa farms in Ghana has failed in some places in the Western Region.

The DDT, which is meant for the mass-spray had been smuggled to Cote D'Ivoire, leaving the farmers to their fate.

Mr. Kwasi Ofori, Chairman of Cocoa Shop Society at Adom Shell at Afere in the Juaboso District, who was very desperate, expressed shock over the smuggling of the DDT.

Speaking to this reporter Monday this week, he said the farmers at his community have been very desperate and disappointed owing to the failure of the government to spray their cocoa farms, which have been attacked by the black pot (Asukuo) disease.

Mr. Ofori said the farmers confronted the shells to find out why the mass spraying had failed in the district, but no plausible explanation was given, but they were told that only six tins of the DDT were available.

This could not spray even 10 hectres of farm, he said.

He said investigation conducted by the farmers indicated that the DDT has been sold to their Ivorian colleagues, who work close to them at Juaboso.

He said when he confronted the authorities responsible for the mass spraying, they considered his position as a chairman of the Cocoa Shop Society and asked him to pay money so that his farm could be sprayed.

The Chairman said he observed that instead of using one tank of the spraying machine to spray one hectare of cocoa farm, they use the one tank to spray more than the one hectare, indicating not enough DDT should go round and that the disease could still attack the cocoa trees.

He said the farmers at Juaboso were told that since the DDT was not available, the mass spraying had to be abandoned in the district.

Brother Yaw Adjei, a farmer at Bonsu Nkwanta, at Obeng Shell, said the DDT is available at the District, but the boys have been taking it to Cote D'Ivoire since they are close to them.

Meanwhile, cocoa farms belonging to Ghanaians are being destroyed by the black-pot disease.

He said the farmers were told that only 40 tins of the DDT were available for the entire district.

Owing to the government's attempt to spray cocoa farms, the shop operators were banned from selling DDT to the farmers.

However, the farmers who wanted to use their own money to spray their farms did not get the medicines to spray the farm.

He called on the government probe the authorities entrusted to do the mass spraying in the Bonsu Nkwanta district and f'ind out why only 40 tins of DDT was available for the entire District.

Adjei said the farmers had to go to Kumasi to buy the DDT from the stores, where the Store-keepers have shot up the price of the DDT as they believe that whatever amount the would be sold, the farmers would have no other choice than buy it.

The farmers suggested that DDT should be sent to stores at subsidised prices so that the farmers would buy them and spray the farms in their own efforts.