Train Cocoa Farmers On Pruning

The District Chief Executive of Upper Denkyira West in the Central Region, Mr Agyeman Asiedu has appealed to the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to train cocoa farmers to undertake pruning and hand pollination on their own farms, to complement the effort of COCOBOD’s hired personnel. 

“Many of the farmers are ready to be trained on how to properly prune their farms. I believe that if COCOBOD will turn their attention to that, it will be very helpful,” he added. 

“The training should also be on hand pollination as well, so that farmers willing to hand pollinate their farm on their own, would be given the necessary training to do so properly.”

Mr Agyeman Asiedu was addressing a cocoa farmers’ rally at Diaso, in the Central Region. The rally was one of nine organised by COCOBOD in the region, as part of a three-day working tour by the Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD, Joseph Boahen Aidoo, and some members of management. 

Pruning and hand pollination are two of the newest additions to COCOBOD’s Productivity Enhancement Programmes (PEPs). 

Presently, the company hires hundreds of thousands of people – mostly otherwise unemployed youth – in the cocoa-growing area to prune and hand-pollinate cocoa farms. 

The hired personnel after training move from farm to farm in their communities to prune and hand-pollinate the cocoa farms. 

The farmers, who have much to do on their farms appreciate the free labour and often request for similar assistance in other aspects of their farming business. 

The COCOBOD CEO, Aidoo, noted that COCOBOD already undertook several training activities for farmers on PEPs and proper farm management, among others. 

He, however, acknowledged that the hired personnel were not able to work on all farms each season due to the sheer number of cocoa farms in the country.

“COCOBOD has already noticed the need to train more people and spread the knowhow on pruning and hand-pollination,” he added. 

Aidoo added that the farmers themselves, their labourers, caretakers and managers should avail themselves to COCOBODs training programmes. 

“Anyone can be trained to properly prune cocoa trees and anyone with good eyesight can as well be trained to hand pollinate cocoa trees,” he mentioned.