COCOBOD Human Resource Director tours cocoa farms in the Bono and Ahafo Regions

Director of Human Resource of Ghana Cocoa Board, Mr Francis Akwasi Opoku has applauded personnel engaged to undertake the Mass Pruning Exercise on cocoa farms for their commitment to increase productivity on cocoa farms across the country.

Mr Opoku was interacting with Pruning gangs during a two-day working tour of cocoa farms in the Bono and Ahafo Regions.

According to him, Management of COCOBOD is implementing several interventions aimed at increasing the productivity of cocoa farms and also improve the livelihood of farmers.

He said the Mass Pruning Exercise is one of the flagship programmes of the current administration and urged farmers to embrace it to better their lots.

'The truth is that if you prune your farms well, you may not even need any fertilizer to increase your productivity per hectare', he added.

He applauded the pruning gangs for their dedication to the growth of Ghana's cocoa sector. ‘We are here to interact with you to know how your work is progressing, know your challenges, and how we can help to make you more effective’, he said.

Dr. Emmanuel Nii Tackie-Otoo, Ag. Deputy Executive Director of the Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED) noted that the Pruning Exercise facilitates the development of more flowers on the cocoa trees for effective pollination.

He urged the farmers to master the art of pollination to enable them to continue to pollinate their farms when COCOBOD finally pulls out of the programme.

"When your farms are well pruned it significantly reduces the chances of the cocoa being attacked by diseases", he stressed.

'The National Cocoa Rehabilitation Programme, Mass Pruning Exercise, Hand Pollination Programme, Cocoa Diseases and Pest Control Programme and other Productivity Enhancement Programmes (PEPs) are all demonstrations of the good intentions that government has for cocoa farmers', he added.

The Districts visited were Bechem, Dadiesoaba, Goaso, Sankore and Berekum. The others were Nkrankwanta, Dormaa Ahenkro and Techiman.