A national farmer cooperative in the cocoa sector has been launched in Kumasi by the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) with support from the Ministry of Agriculture to influence farmers’ perception about cocoa farming and encourage them to approach it as a business.
Among other aims behind the formation of the national cooperative is to facilitate the registration of farmer associations into sustainable societies that would work on behalf of their members for their mutual benefit.
Currently, a total of 1,342 cooperatives have been identified by the Cocoa Health and Extension Division, out of which 512 are cooperatives fully registered with the Department of Cooperatives.
A total number of 146,764 farmers comprising 101,796 cooperative members and 45,068 farmers belong to associations which are yet to be registered as cooperatives.
Addressing farmers and other dignitaries at the launch, the Chief Executive of COCOBOD, Mr Joseph Boahen Aidoo, enumerated COCOBOD’s plans for the farmers and the cocoa sector, including plans to distribute motorised slashers for weeding through the cooperatives to the farmers and other productivity enhancement programmes.
He said COCOBOD would promote the establishment of individual service providers who would provide pruning, slashing and other essential farming services to farmers to make farming much easier.
According to Mr Aidoo, COCOBOD had plans to improve on the economic fortunes of farmers as they sought increment in producing prices at the world market.
He advised individual farmers to do well to join cooperatives and other unions so as to benefit from all government initiatives.
The Deputy Minister of Agriculture in charge of perennial crops, Mr George Boahen Oduro, indicated that the government was very committed to improving the lives of farmers, especially cocoa farmers.
According to him, cocoa farmers were being cherished by the government as a result of their contribution to the economy over the years, and so it was important for the government to work hard to improve on their economic conditions.
The National Chief Farmer and the President of Ghana Cocoa, Coffee and Shea nut Farmers, Alhaji Alhassan Bukari, who spoke on behalf of the unions noted that the group was for the collective good of all members and called on all farmers to be part.
He advised members to desist from partisan politics which had the potential of breaking the cooperatives and urged executives to follow the laid down rules that governed the association.
FROM FAUSTINA KWABEA OSEI, KUMASI
