Prospects for cocoa production bright - Oheme

Mampong (Ash), March 15, GNA - Prospects for cocoa production for the 2003-04 main season which began last October looks bright, says Dr Owusu Bempah Oheme, Head of the Department of Crops, University of Education's Agriculture college at Asante Mampong. He said the University's ten acres of hybrid cocoa trees had started to yield fruits after 18 months of cultivation, adding that others being replicated nationwide were also producing mature yields rapidly.

Dr Oheme was briefing newsmen and other guests including some dignitaries during a tour of the University's experimental farm as part of activities to climax the Amaniampong hall week celebrations. The Hall week was celebrated on the theme: "Agricultural Technology: The way forward for sustainable economy". Dr Oheme affirmed that the combined effect of improved technology and the mass cocoa spraying campaign greatly accounted for the increase in production levels in the past two years. "It is due to the innovation of Ghanaian researchers and the responsiveness of our farmers to this innovation, and not because of smuggling from neighbouring Cote d'Ivoire as being speculated in certain quarters," he said.

Earlier, Major Courage Quashigah (Rtd), Minister of Food and Agriculture, in an address read for him, called on students of the University to help in disseminating the appropriate agricultural technology to farmers as a way forward for a sustainable economy. Maj. Quashigah, who deplored the sale of agricultural commodities as primary products, asked farmers to add value to their products in order to maximise profit. He said the government had plans to set up modern cottage agro-processing ventures in rural communities to improve their economies towards enhancing their development.

Mr Kofi Britwum, Ashanti Regional Director of Education, called on the Ministry of Education (MOE), Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) and the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) to jointly introduce acedemic programmes and their corresponding text materials to transform agriculture education to meet Ghana's needs and aspirations. Mr Thomas Edward Atakorah, Sekyere West District Chief Executive (DCE), urged the students to use dialogue in resolving issues without recourse to demonstration, which often results in the destruction of valuable school property.