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The District Cocoa Officer of the Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED) in Assin Fosu in the Central Region, Isaac Sarfo Afram, has urged Ghanaian youngsters to pursue a career in cocoa-growing because “it is very lucrative and fulfilling.”
In an interview with Angel News’ Akosua Akyere Kumiwaa, he stated that the government and COCOBOD’s interventions, such as the free distribution of early maturing and high-yielding cocoa seedlings that take only three years to yield instead of seven years, pruning machines, and the free distribution of agrochemicals, fertilizers, along with other inputs, should motivate the youth to enter the cocoa production industry.
Additionally, they have experts in the field of cocoa health and extension that help farmers improve their output, revenue, and standard of living.
“Some years back the farmers used to use their energy to farm so the youth didn’t like farming but now there are machines and also we have trained them to farm without stress and also cultivate the cocoa in a short period of time.”
He claimed that to increase production in Ghana, COCOBOD is no longer seeking few hand pollinators and is instead maintaining and empowering the existing pollinators to pollinate cocoa crops at a little cost to the farmer. So, to increase their harvests, he urged farmers to make use of it.
He added that the Assin Fosu Cocoa Division is now giving away 2.3 million hybrid cocoa seedlings to farmers for free in order to boost their production. But in order for it to serve its original purpose, he encouraged the recipients to plant it. The hybrid cocoa germinates quickly, unlike regular cocoa.
“We have brought the hybrid cocoa so that the cocoa will use a shorter time to germinate to reduce the stress of the farmers also it has come to our notice that some farmers do not plant the cocoa when they come for it because it was given to them freely so I would advise them to plant it when we give it to them and I would advise the youth to involve themselves in farming.”
