Cocoa production to rebound

Expectations are high among farmers that cocoa production will hit its peak in the mid-crop season on the back of favourable weather and improved farming practices.

Cocoa bean output in the main crop season (September- March) has been disappointing -- falling below the target of 600,000 metric tonnes and raising concerns that

Ghana could miss its annual production target of 810,000 metric tonnes as cocoa production in the mid-crop season (May- August) has over the years accounted for just about 15 to 20 percent of the total harvest.

The Deputy National Chief Farmer, Nana Agyei Damoa, is however optimistic Ghana will record a bumper cocoa harvest in the mid-season as farmers have recovered from the menace of black pod disease and low rainfall experienced in the main crop season.

Nana Damoa, in explaining the source of confidence and optimism to the B&FT said: “Ghana is likely to produce almost one million metric tonnes this year per the rising purchasing figures from the buying companies. Though production from the main crop season was less than the targetted 600,000 tonnes, there is however a guaranteed assurance that the mid-crop season will be the magic wand”.

Ghana, through Cocobod in September last year, secured a syndicated US$1.7billion trade finance deal with a consortium of domestic and international banks for the purchase of cocoa beans in the 2014/2015 crop season.

However, cocoa production for the 2014/15 crop season has been threatened by the failure of some farmers to adhere to proper agronomic practices, especially in the application of fertiliser, onset of the black pod disease, and unfavourable climatic conditions at the time.

Cocobod as at February this year had purchased around 510,000 metric tonnes, arousing fears that the country might not be able to meet its target by the close of the cocoa season.

Nana Damoa, who is also a member of Cocobod, stated that the weather has been auspicious in the mid-crop season and that farmers have been sensitised on best farming practices while measures have also been implemented to curtail the threat of black pod disease.

He noted the growing number of aged farmers as one of the factors inimical to the country’s future cocoa production. “The strength of cocoa farming’s workforce keeps shrinking, as many of the farmers are in their 60s and 70s. The sector is not attracting enough youth to rejuvenate labour as a major factor of cocoa production.

“Land acquisition processes in cocoa growing areas are very complicated and unattractive to woo the youth into the sector. Land owners and traditional authorities must revise their land tenure systems to make it easier and more accessible for the youth to venture into cocoa farming,” Nana Damoa noted.

He commended government for its support to farmers with fertilisers and other inputs and urged policymakers to step up efforts to assist cocoa farmers with needed resources such as subsidised fertiliser and agrochemicals.