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Corrupt cocoa buyers will be banned
from the trade - Isaac Osei
Koforidua July 08 Ghanadot/GNA- Mr Isaac
Osei, Chief Executive of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), on
Tuesday warned that any Licensed Buying Company (LBC), which
misappropriated cocoa farmers’ bonus would be banned and
prosecuted.
He said the Government had so far given a total of 16
million Ghana Cedis to LBCs to be paid to cocoa farmers as
bonuses as at July 01 this year, adding, that anyone found
to be sitting on the farmers money would not be spared.
Mr Osei who said this when he interacted with district chief
cocoa farmers, LBCs, cocoa farmers and staff of the COCOBOD
drawn from the Eastern Region in Koforidua, also cautioned
producer clerks to guard against adjusting their weighing
scales to cheat farmers.
He told the farmers that the government’s commitment to
ensure that they lived in dignity could be seen in the
upward adjustment in the producer prices of cocoa, adding
that, cocoa prices being paid to them, was unprecedented in
the history of the cocoa industry.
Mr Osei announced that solar street lightning would be
provided soon at cocoa growing communities, while 60
kilometer of feeder roads in some selected areas would be
tarred.
He said the cocoa farmers housing scheme would be
accelerated, adding that, under the programme a farmer was
to pay for the cost of the building within 10 years.
The Chief Executive expressed worry about smuggling of cocoa
to neighbouring countries and said the government would not
sit down unconcerned to spend huge sums of money to subsidy
the cost of fertilizers and other chemicals only for the
produce to be sold elsewhere.
He advised cocoa farmers in the region whose crops were
affected by the Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease to allow
those trees to be cut down, so that they would replanted
later.
Mr Osei noted with concern that the region hitherto was
among the leading ones in cocoa production, but due to the
incidence of the swollen shoot disease, it now occupies the
fifth position out of the six cocoa growing regions in the
country.
He earlier paid a courtesy call on Mr Kwadwo Afram Asiedu,
Eastern Region Minister, and Daasebre Dr Oti Boateng,
Omanhene of the New Juaben Traditional Area.
Mr Afram Asiedu observed that
the mass cocoa spraying exercise as well as incentives being
given to farmers had resulted in cocoa production being
tripled over the past seven years.
He appealed to the Chief Executive to investigate complaints
by some cocoa farmers that the spraying exercises were being
done on partisan basis.
Nana Kakari Addo, Regional Manager, Quality Control
Division, COCOBOD, earlier said the region had registered
significant increase in cocoa production in spite of the
widespread menace of the Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease
in the area.
“The just ended 2007/08 main crop season registered a total
grading of 53,364.05 tons, representing about 14 percent
increase over the 46,875.01 tons that was realized in
2006/07 crop season”.
He said the quality of cocoa in the region had also improved
tremendously since about 90 percent of the graded and sealed
cocoa beans were bigger in size and of exportable quality.
On child labour, Nana Addo said management and staff of
COCOBOD in the region had extensively sensitized farmers to
send their children to school instead of engaging them on
their farms.
GNA
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