Mr Edward Kwasi Batea points to burnt pods after spraying the Banzar chemical
Government in a bid to boost Ghana’s cocoa production by increasing yield introduced the Hand Pollination Programme in 2017, an artificial process where the pollen is taken from the flower on the same tree or nearby trees and attached to or dropped on the stigma leading to cross pollination which allows many flowers to be pollinated a day resulting in massive fertilization and cherrelle development.
Over the years, many Ghanaian cocoa farmers have complained about low crop yields and their resultant effects on their financial fortunes so the introduction of such novelty has come as good news to cocoa farmers in the country.
While presenting the mid-year Budget Review and Economic Planning statement to Parliament on Monday, July 31, 2017, Finance Minister, Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta, said it was the objective of government to reverse the “declining trend and to increase production to more than one million tonnes per annum within the next four years.”
The programme has been successful over the years with cocoa farmers doubling their yields since its inception.
The programme, however, faces danger as some cocoa farmers in the Brong-Ahafo Region have already identified some threats to their farms and are calling on government to, as a matter of urgency, intervene for prompt remedy.
introducing the hand pollination exercise which
has increased his yield
Visit to Bechem-Brong-Ahafo Region
Growing up as a son of a cocoa farmer, I saw my father and many other cocoa farmers rely on nature for their cocoa yields which I believe have resulted in declining yields over the years.
The introduction of a hand pollination programme by government to enhance pollination and therefore cherrelle and pod formation was not only a welcome news but timely for those of us whose livelihood depend on and are still linked to cocoa farming.
It is in view of this that I spent my Christmas break visiting some cocoa farms in the Brong-Ahafo Region to be part of the success story chalked by the hand pollination exercise. My interactions with many farmers during the visit revealed a distressful phenomenon in the use of one of the products which were supplied to them for flower enhancing and formation known as Banzar. Ironically instead of flower production, the flowers rather got naturally withered or burnt after its use.
42 years old cocoa farmer, Edward Kwasi Batea who owns a 2 acre cocoa farm located at Nhyiam, a village in Bechem District of the Brong Ahafo Region was full of praise to government for introducing the hand pollination programme which he admitted had increased his yield for the past two years. However, during the 2018 crop season when he sprayed the chemical Banzar to enhance flowering and podding, most of the flowers rather withered after 10 days of spraying.
Mr. Batea shared his story during an interview:
“My farm was part of the farms which benefitted from the pollination exercise in 2017 when it was first introduced. Before the pollination exercise way back in 2015-2016, I harvested about 6-7 bags but in 2017 when my farm was pollinated, I had more than 11 bags which looked like magic to me”.
“In 2018, the pollination was done but as usual government advised us to buy fertilizer to support flower production and also supplied us with the chemical Banzar. To my dismay, few days after spraying the Banzar, I realized that the flowers that had come naturally had started to wither and drop. The pods too had burns and turned black. I asked other cocoa farmers around and they all complained of the same appalling situation. I am appealing to the government to investigate and change this banzar chemical to avert catastrophe”.
Messer Edward Kwasi Batea points to burnt pods after spraying the Banzar chemical
Many other farmers including, Opanin Emmanuel Kwame Akpalu who also has his farm at Nhyiam-Bechem told the same story.
“Cocoa, we know is a good resource as such the introduction of the hand pollination exercise brought relief to us the farmers which will go a long way to affect the nation positively. We are aware that there are other chemicals in the market that can produce more flowers after the pollination. Government should therefore arrange to supply the suitable and efficient products to support the good works already being done. We know there are very good agro-chemicals on the market which could do the magic of producing more flowers and retaining them as well but as farmers, we cannot promote any company’s product as such we leave it to Government/Cocobod to follow up to select the right chemical product that will be good for us”.
Opanin Kwame Akpalu praises Government for introducing the hand pollination exercise which has increased his yield
Mr. Allotey Boateng who also owns a 6 acre cocoa farm at Yamfo in Bechem also expressed similar sentiments:
“As for me, I believe that farming is a business so I buy chemicals myself which is not always enough considering the size of my farm. The hand pollination has helped us to get more yield but the banzar affected us a lot in 2018. We thank the government for introducing the hand pollination exercise but I believe they can invest more in the program by supplying us with the right chemicals that will give more flowers and retain them as well”. He pleaded.
By Samuel Ohene