December 10, 1984

The Cocoa Industry And Ghana's Economy

...And The Response?

Poku Adaa

It has just been announced that about 2 million hybrid high-yielding cocoa pods are to be distributed to cocoa farmers, co-operative organisations and Regional Cocoa Projects throughout the country. The Cocoa Services Division (CSD) of the Ghana Cocoa Board hopes the pods will be nursed into healthy seedlings for plant- ing during next year's season starting in April/May. Farmers demonstration workshops are being organised to teach the farmers the use of polythene bags and soil composition suitable for nursing of the beans into seedlings.

This is intended to replace past practice whereby already nursed seed- lings were transferred from the CSD nurseries to farmers. This time it is a do-it-yourself affair and with the pods being distributed free of charge, it is hoped farmers and farming organisations will take advantage of it.

COCOA RESEARCH

According to the CSD, this move is one of the phases of the rehabilitation policies for the cocoa industry. In the Ashanti Region District Defence Committee officials are campaigning vigorously for farmers to cultivate other crops such as oil palm, fruit and food crops alongside their cocoa farms, in an attempt to discour- age cocoa only farms especially among new farming ventures. Farmers are being advised to abandon their cocoa farms in favour of food crops since it is the policy of government to reduce cost per unit production of cocoa.

One of the rare forums which offered farmers opportunities to improve their techniques was the recently held District Agricultural Show held in the West Akyem district at Asamankese in the Eastern Region a couple of weeks ago. At that show, the PNDC Chairman Flt-Lt. J.J. Rawlings was quoted as saying that although a great deal of relevant research has been done in Agriculture, what is left is the effective transfer of the appropriate technique to the people.

Obviously, the organisers of the stand of the Cocoa Research Institute swallowed his comments acidly; there was a general feeling that the CRI has contributed quite substantially to the development of the cocoa industry in Ghana.

And as if to prove their point another forum being mounted by the CRI was expected to start in a few days time. Dubbed "Farmers day at CRI", the theme of the occasion which comes on at the CRI's research premises at Akyem Tafo, is "Cocoa Research and the Farmer." The object of this forum was to afford farmers the opportunity to see current research work on new aspects of cocoa cultivation, pest and disease control, extension services, planting material and to join in discus- sion on newer and improved modes of production.

One major aspect hitherto unknown to cocoa farmers is the utilisation of cocoa wastes for manuring, soap making, extraction of special chemi- cals, herb preparation etc. Also to be exhibited will be the newer version of the CRI's oil-fired and solar-powered dryers for cocoa.

What the Institute has been grappling with is the continuing search for a mechanised way of splitting cocoa pods.