The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board, Joseph Boahen Aidoo, has warned cocoa growers against using unsuitable weedicides on their crops.
Speaking at a meeting of cocoa farmers in Gomoa Afransie in the Central Region, he bemoaned how many cocoa farmers use agrochemicals such as “condemn” and “run-up” on their cocoa crops to get rid of weeds.
He pointed out that, such weedicides kill essential elements in the soil and contaminate other crops such as yam and cassava grown on the same land, making them unsafe to consume.
“Most of us use chemicals like condemn on the farms, before you use this pesticide kindly think of the name, it means destruction, so how do you use such chemicals on your farmers? Run-up isn’t also good for your farm, instead, these pesticides kill all the essential elements in the land.
The COCOBOD CEO further suggested that farmers use the machines provided by the institution for the spraying exercise.
He mentioned that the machines were distributed to some farmers on credit to be paid back in annual instalments (GHC 1000 cedis).
However, none of the farmers have made any attempt to pay the annual instalments, and the machines have not been put to use.
“That is why we introduced you to the machines, we gave it out to some farmers to use it and pay for it on annual instalment of 1000 cedis, but none of you have even paid a dime. “I don’t have a problem with the fact that you haven’t paid for it, my worry is the fact that you don’t utilize the machines,” he said.
Mr. Aidoo again bemoaned the
court inability to prosecute farmers who are caught smuggling cocoa beans outside the country.
