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.”
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FROM Prince Fiifi Yorke, Dormaa