"Government will not sit down unconcern ..."- Mr Ofosu-Ampofo

Koforidua, July 9, GNA - Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, Eastern Regional Minister, on Thursday said the mass cocoa spraying exercise was dear to the hearts of the Government and would therefore not sit down unconcern for it to be undermined.

He said the cocoa industry was the backbone of the economy and government would do all it could to assist farmers to maximize their yield.

Mr Ofosu-Ampofo gave the warning when he met with district cocoa officers, coordinators of the mass cocoa spraying exercise, metropolitan, municipal and district chief executive from cocoa growing areas in his office in Koforidua.

The meeting followed concerns raised by a section of the public about attempts by some people to undermine the mass spraying exercise. The Regional Minister said the spraying exercise was one project that the government would like to continue with, adding that, it should be seen as a national exercise and not to be politicized. He advised the spraying gangs not to discriminate in the course of their work on grounds of one political affiliation or tribe, but rather they should help eliminate the swollen shoot disease on cocoa farms. Mr Ofosu-Ampofo said the mass spraying exercise was also meant to create jobs and urged that all Ghanaians should be brought on board irrespective of ones political affiliation.

Mr Antwi Bosiako-Sekyere, Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, said if the country was to reach a middle income status in 2015 then the cocoa industry must not be toyed with. He observed that the cocoa industry is one area in the informal sector, which provides employment for a lot of people and urged that nothing should be done to create unemployment.

Stealing of inputs, discrimination in the spraying of farms, and inadequate spraying machines were identified as some of the challenges facing the spraying exercise in some districts.