Encourage wards to take up farming, parents urged

Mr David Benjamin Donkor, the 2015 Eastern Regional Best Cocoa Farmer, has called on parents to encourage their children to take up vocational training and farming to help improve their lot.

He urged the youth to take whatever profession they find themselves seriously and work hard.

Mr Donkor, who was addressing cocoa farmers from Asamankese area at a farmer’s rally, appealed to farmers to engage in good farming practices to help increase productivity and to generate income.

Mr Samuel Gyimah Gyamfi, the Eastern Regional Manager of Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED), said COCOBOD would provide the needed inputs to cocoa farmers nationwide to enable them to re-establish their farms.

He said the inputs include 4,300,000 hybrid cocoa seedlings, 160,000 seedlings of trees to provide shade for the young cocoa plants, fungicides, insecticides and fertilizers.

Mr Gyamfi said to ensure the smooth implementation of the program, a ten member District Task Force (DTF) has been created in every district to monitor spraying exercises in the area.

Mr Gyamfi entreated farmers to apply for COCOBOD scholarships for their wards to help improve education in cocoa communities.

He said roads leading to cocoa communities will be rehabilitated to ensure easy accessibility adding that solar lighting systems will soon be provided to cocoa farmers in communities that do not have access to electricity.

He commended the chiefs and people of the Kwahu area for allocating 120 acres of land for the youth in the region to enable them engage in cocoa farming.