Govt supplies cocoa farmers with seedlings

The government is to supply 25 million cocoa seedlings to farmers in the Brong-Ahafo Region.

In addition, it will also provide the farmers with thousands of fertilizers, and other agric inputs free of charge in the 2015 cocoa season.

Mr Eric Opoku, Brong-Ahafo Regional Minister, who made this known on Wednesday, said the move was to improve annual cocoa production in the Region.

He was interacting with the chiefs and people of Diabaa, Kwakuanya, Nkwantaso and Kwadwo Kumikrom, cocoa growing communities in the Dormaa West District.

Accompanied by other heads of department and some regional executives members of the NDC, Mr Opoku who is the Member of Parliament for Asunafo South was in the area as part of his working visit to the various districts and municipalities in the Region.

The Regional Minister explained that three additional Cocoa Districts, Nkrankwanta, Sankore and Sunyani Cocoa Districts had been created in the Region to ensure that the agricultural inputs were supplied equally among deserving farmers.

Mr Opoku emphasized that the government was poised to ensure that the cocoa industry was given a boost, and this he observed could be done if farmers were motivated and encouraged to increase production.

He said many of the roads linking cocoa growing communities in the Region would be reconstructed before the end of the year.

Mr Opoku mentioned the Dormaa-Ahenkro-Nkrankwanta, Goaso-Acherensua, Gambia Number Two-Kyeremasu and Kwakuanya-Kasapin roads as some of the feeder roads that had been awarded on contract.

Mr Paul Donkor, Dormaa West District Chief Executive, said almost all the communities in the district had benefited from projects including schools blocks, CHPS compound and health facilities.

He said rural electrification was on course, pointing out that only six communities in the district were not connected but assured those communities would be hooked onto the national grid by the end of the year.

All the chiefs at the communities appealed for the construction of the Dormaa-Ahenkro-Nkrankwanta road.

At Kwakuanya, Nana Baffour Agyemang, Chief of the town, appealed to the government to upgrade the local clinic into a health center and called on the District Assembly to construct a toilet for the local primary school.