Cocoa farmers in the country have described last year, the 2015 farming year as the worst in the country’s history compared to previous years. This is because farmers were greatly hindered in their production because farm inputs and other necessities to boost their production were largely absent.
Citing an example to buttress their point, Mr. Agyeman Obeng a cocoa farmer at Kibi in the Eastern region said chemicals that were supposed to be provided by the government did not come to them in their right quantities. He added that an incident like this resulted in some misunderstandings and hard feelings among the farmers. This was the aftermath of only few farmers being given the limited quantities of fertilizer.
But that is not all. According to Mr. Boateng , the mistletoe disease that affected cocoa production really affected them last year since there were not chemicals to control them. He further appealed to the authorities to supply them with a lot of chemicals this year to help them fight the spread and destructive effects of the disease, stressing in the scarcity of the chemicals prevented even those with money from getting it.
Finally he appealed to the cocoa clerks to buy the cocoa while their children are on vacation to reduce labor.
Source: ritefmonline.org
