Boahen Aidoo (right) interacting with Mr. Joe Forson
The largest plantain nursery in the country, located at Dadieso in the Suaman District of the Western North Region, is to employ about 2,000 permanent workers by the end of June this year.
The plantain nursery, an initiative of two indigenous companies – Kumad Global Impact Limited and Afarinick Company Limited – was started in December last year, and currently employs about 900 permanent workers.
The two companies have brought together experts in the agricultural value chain in Ghana, and are utilising state-of-the-art technology to deliver the project on a 400 acre land.
They are currently focusing on producing over 100 million plantain suckers in two years to support the Cocoa Rehabilitation Programme of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD).
This came to light when the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of COCOBOD, Joseph Boahen Aidoo, visited the nursery as part of his recent working visit to the Western North Region.
Joe Forson, one of the managers of the two companies, explained that the purpose for the project was to support the Cocoa Rehabilitation Programme.
“We knew COCOBOD was in the process of rehabilitating roughly 136,000 hectares diseased cocoa farms, and will need plantain suckers for the project.
“So we approached COCOBOD, and told them that we have the technology and the resources to be able to deliver the plantain suckers that will be used to support the Cocoa Rehabilitation Programme,” he revealed.
He disclosed that during the first phase of the project, the companies will produce 35 million plantain seedlings by the end of September this year.
He said the companies also aimed at moving to other areas such as tree seedlings, oil palm seedlings, and all kinds of seedlings since the two companies have the infrastructure to take those initiatives.
For his part, the COCOBOD CEO, explained that his outfit needed the plantain seedlings or suckers in the Cocoa Rehabilitation Programme to serve as alternative sources of income for the farmers, and to provide shades for the replanted disease-resistant cocoa seedlings.
He explained that COCOBOD realised that plantain suckers that are moved from farms had pests and other diseases, adding, “So you spread the diseases when you remove them from farm to farm.”
He, however, indicated the plantain suckers produced by the two companies are treated before replanting.
Portion of the largest plantain nursery in Ghana
From Emmanuel Opoku, Suaman Dadieso