Thirty-two thousand, two hundred and three (3,223) cocoa farmers in
the Ahafo- Ano North and South Districts have been rewarded with bonus
payments totaling GH ¢322,560.00. The quality of cocoa beans sold to
Noble Resources, through Federated Commodities, a licensed buying
company, earned the farmers the premium. They sold 3,337.4 metric
tonnes representing 53,398 bags of beans, which met the certification
by the international body, UTZ, last year. The farmers, who have come
together under the Ahafo-Ano North and South Cocoa Farmers
Association, are beneficiaries of a rigorous training in good
agricultural practices, sponsored by UTZ, to improve crop yield and
returns. Mr Edmund Quaye, Country Representative of Noble Resources,
announced the bonus payment at the annual general meeting of the
farmers at Mankranso in the Ahafo-Ano South District. He commended
them for the hard work and sticking to best practices to sustain the
quality of Ghana's cocoa. Mr Isaac Gyamfi, Managing Director of
Solidaridad (West Africa), a Dutch International Development
Organisation involved in the promotion of sustainable agriculture,
said the body had under the UTZ certification code of conduct, trained
more than 5,000 farmers. The beneficiaries are in 155 communities
selected from Ashanti and Brong Ahafo Regions. Mr David Annan, Human
Resources Manager, Cocoa Swollen Shoot and Virus Control Unit, Cocoa
Board, said cocoa certification had come to stay and urged the farmers
to uphold best production practices. They should not only maintain the
quality of the cocoa beans but to also adopt a more business-like
approach to farming.
