Rubber farmers advised to form groups to access support

The Minister of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), Mr. Clement Kofi Humado, on Saturday entreated rubber farmers in the country to form farm groups in order to access technological support to enhance production.

He said Ghana has a high potential of increasing rubber production, and entreated the private sector to partner the Rubber Out-growers and Agents Association (ROAA) to increase its production.

Mr. Humado said this in a speech read on his behalf by Mr. Salifu Abdulai-Razaque Ziblim, Western Regional Director of MoFA at the 11th Annual General Meeting of ROAA in Takoradi.

The event was under the theme, "Rubber Cultivation-The Emerging Force for Poverty Alleviation and the Enforcement of the Ghanaian Economy, the Role of Stakeholders".

He said Africa contributed less than five percent of the world's rubber production and, therefore, charged rubber farmers to access support from agriculture extension services in order to boost production since it is a lucrative venture, adding maximum rubber production would alleviate poverty in the country.

The Paramount Chief of Nsien Traditional Area, Awulae Agyefi Kwame the second, who chaired the function, lamented that successive governments had not paid much attention to rubber production in the country.

He, therefore, entreated the current government to channel more resources into rubber production, because it could increase the country's foreign exchange earnings, and help stop the depreciation of the cedi.

Awulae Agyefi Kwame, who is also the Chairman of Association of Chiefs Whose Land GREL Operate (ACLANGO), expressed dismay over continuous degradation of the environment by illegal small-scale miners, popularly known as galamsey operators, and urged government to put a halt to the menace. Rubber growers in the Western Region had increased over the years with over 5,000 rubber farmers currently involved in rubber cultivation across the country.