Ampenim (Ash), Jan 15, GNA- Cocoa farmers at Ampenim in the Atwima District of Ashanti have appealed to the government to extend the assistance it gives to cocoa farmers to coffee and sheanut farmers. The farmers said while cocoa is receiving all the encouragement and support from the government, coffee and sheanut sectors had been relegated.
This was contained in a congratulatory message to President J A Kufuor on Wednesday and signed by Opanin Dramani Owusu, the Ampenim district cocoa chief farmer on the introduction of the mass cocoa spraying, 'high-tech' fertilizer application and the increase in the producer price of cocoa.
The district chief farmer said the introduction of these incentives had ensured increased yields that had put a lot of money in the pockets of cocoa farmers.
Opanin Owusu assured the President of the continued support of the farmers and pledged that they will work harder than before to increase cocoa production to enable the country to regain its position as the leading producer of cocoa in the world.
He asked the farmers to reciprocate government's gesture by maintaining their farms to make the spraying exercise more effective. 15 Jan 04
