COCOA FARMERS at Amenfi, a cocoa
farming community in the Dormaa East District of the Bono Region, have commended
the government for introducing hand pollination to boost cocoa production.
According to them, it has increased
yields two folds and it is helping them to become financially sound.
In an interview with DAILY
GUIDE, George Amponsah Twumasi who owns cocoa farms expressed surprised
at the rate at which the exercise has increased yields in the area.
“I used to harvest only five bags
of cocoa beans annually before the introduction of the hand pollination
programme by the Akufo-Addo government, but now I harvest close to 12 bags.”
He appealed to government to
sustain the practice for farmers to benefit immensely, saying “it is helping us
to create wealth.”
A Community Extension Agent (CEA)
in Dormaa East, Evans Agyekum said aside increasing yield the exercise has also
given jobs to unemployed youth in the area since most of the workers employed
by COCOBOD to do the hand pollination are families of cocoa farmers.
“The initiative is geared towards
alleviating poverty facing cocoa farmers in the country,” he said.
Mr. Agyekum revealed that his
checks showed that Cocobod has employed about 20,000 youth in 2019 for the hand
pollination exercise and said it was a laudable initiative.
The Dormaa District alone he said, can
boast of 500 youth engaged in the exercise in farming communities like Amenfi,
Kofi Boakrom, Isakah, Kokronsua among others.
One of the pollinators called
Dacosta expresses gratitude to government for employing him to partake in this
year’s exercise saying “I was not working but when I heard
about COCOBOD employing the youth to train them for the exercise, I took the
opportunity and I was quickly employed.”
fiifiyorkeprince@gmail.com
FROM Prince Fiifi Yorke, Dormaa
