Unapproved chemicals threatens cocoa production

Some cocoa farmers of the Anyinabirim community in the Sefwi Wiawso Municipality, Western Region, have appealed to the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to check the activities of agro-chemical producers if it is to realise its target set for the cocoa season.

COCOBOD is hoping to achieve 900,000 metric tonnes of cocoa for the 2018/19 cocoa season. For this reason, it has introduced a number of cocoa productivity enhancement programmes, including the supply of agro-chemicals, subsidised fertilizers, hand-pollination exercises, and pruning among others.

However, according to the concerned cocoa farmers, given the ‘inadequate’ supply of chemicals, some agro-chemical producers have taken advantage of the situation by selling unapproved chemicals to the unsuspecting cocoa farmer.

This development, the cocoa farmers noted, could derail government’s effort to ensure that farmers record an increase in their yields.

During a ‘Q & A’ session at the 2nd Cocoa Dialogue Series, organised by the Ghana Agricultural and Rural Development Journalists Association (GARDJA) with support from UTZ, at Anyinabirim, the cocoa farmers observed that the influx of ‘fake’ chemicals is partly due to the weak monitoring of licenced and unlicenced agro-chemical sellers.

In addition to this, they also raised a number of challenges confronting the cocoa farming business.