Cocoa farmers urged to
ferment beans properly before sale
Akyem Oda (E/R), Nov. 29, GNA- The Quality
Control Department of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD)
on Wednesday advised cocoa farmers to ensure
adequate fermentation and drying of cocoa beans
before sale to help protect the premium status
the country earns on the export of quality
cocoa.
Mr Kwadwo Kyei, a Senior Quality Control Officer
of the Akyem Oda District of the Quality Control
Department gave the advice when the Akyem Oda
District of the Produce Buying Company (PBC)
rewarded 50 hardworking farmers at a ceremony at
Akyem Oda.
He said even though 180,345 bags of cocoa were
sealed at Akyem Oda for the 2005 and 2006 light
crop season, the highest in the Eastern Region,
no grades one and two were recorded due to the
incidence of purple colour.
Mr Kyei said the purple colour was as a result
of bad fermentation and said the only way they
could avoid the occurrence was to ferment the
beans very well for six days before putting it
on the drying mat and also ensure that they were
thoroughly dried before sale.
He urged marketing clerks to do pre-sale
inspection to ensure that the beans do not
contain any foreign matter before purchase.
Mr Yaw Adjei Sakyi, the District Manager of the
PBC cautioned the farmers against using child
labour on their farms.
He told them that overseas buyers had decided
not to purchase cocoa from countries that use
child labour on their farms.
Mr Sakyi advised the farmers to accept only
Akwafo cheques whenever the sold their cocoa,
reminding them of the numerous benefits they
would derive from the cheque system.
He urged marketing clerks to stop pre-financing
the purchase of cocoa; a practice, which he said
had brought untold hardships to some of them.
The District Manager told the farmers that the
PBC was negotiating with the Government to
enable them to access funds from the Millennium
Challenge Account to expand their farms.
Nana Kwame Asiedu, the deputy Eastern Regional
Chief farmer commended the government on the
introduction of the mass cocoa spraying
exercise, which he said was boosting the cocoa
industry.
He appealed to cocoa marketing clerks to monitor
the exercise carefully in their various
communities to ensure its success.
The farmers were presented with radio sets,
solar torchlights, cutlasses and Wellington
boots.
GNA
