President John Mahama has advised cocoa farmers in the country to cut down their old cocoa trees and go for free seedlings for replanting. The president explained the old plants do not give the farmers enough yields which in turn affect production of cocoa in Ghana. President Mahama believes government’s investments in the cocoa sector … Read more
Although Ghana’s cocoa production fell short of industry forecasts for the 2015/16 growing season, increased investment in seed development programmes and infrastructure upgrades should improve output over the coming years. “Crop production for the 2015/16 growing season, which spans October to September, reached 690,000 tonnes, although this fell short of the 850,000-tonne projection made by … Read more
The Oxford Business Group (OBG) has warned that Ghana risks losing a substantial part of its agriculture land due to the activities of illegal miners popularly called ‘Galamsey’. According to the group, galamsey activities also pose a major danger to Ghana’s cash crop—cocoa, which has been a significant contributor to economic growth and foreign earnings … Read more
Thousands of women in rural communities in Central and West Africa are reaping the rewards from Nestle’s agricultural support and capacity-building programmes to increase their yields, crop quality and income levels. The company, which relies on smallholder farmers and farm workers to help supply agricultural raw materials needed for its products, is contributing to the … Read more
As part of measures to improve the livelihoods of farmers in cocoa communities, Nestlé Ghana, with its Create Share Value (CSV), has partnered the International Cocoa Initiative and the World Cocoa Foundation to tackle the issue of child labour and improve cocoa farming. The project, christened the Nestlé Cocoa Plan, is aimed at improving the … Read more
The Minority in Parliament has accused government of engaging in fraudulent and corrupt practices that have resulted in low prices for cocoa. Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, October 18, the Minority spokesperson on agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, alleged: “The low producer price they are paying to cocoa farmers is as a direct result … Read more
Some cocoa farmers at Suaman Dadieso in the Western Region have expressed concern about the alleged inability of Licensed Buying Companies (LBC’s) to purchase their crops resulting in pilling up of the product in their sheds. LBCs are limited liability companies which are issued with dealers licenses by Cocoa Board to purchase and evacuate cocoa … Read more
The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has reviewed, upwards, the producer price of cocoa, from GH¢6,720 per tonne, to GH¢7,520 for the 2016/2017 season. A statement issued in Accra, and copied to the Ghana News Agency, said the Board has hence announced new cocoa prices for the cocoa season pegging it at GH¢470 per bag of … Read more
The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has reviewed upwards, the producer price of cocoa from GH?6,720.00 per tonne to GH?7,520 per tonne for the 2016/2017 season. A statement issued in Accra and copied to the Ghana News Agency said the Board has hence announced new cocoa prices for the cocoa season pegging it at GH?470 per … Read more
Illegal mining remains the biggest challenge confronting cocoa farmers in their bid to increase production of the country’s leading cash crop. Farmers of local buying company, Cocoa Abrabopa, raised the concern among others at their eighth Annual General Meeting in Kumasi on Thursday. Chairman of the farmers and the company’s council of board, Pomasi Ismail, … Read more
Ghana’s contemporary international music icon, Stonebwoy, has hinted that he is adding farming to his occupation. Stonebwoy was crowned the brand ambassador for “Maso,’’ a programme to get over 80,000 youth in cocoa growing areas in the country to go into cocoa cultivation. He told the enthusiastic youth that he decided to associate himself with … Read more
A $74 million project focusing on creating employment opportunities for young people in the cocoa sector has been launched. The five-year project is targeting more than 200,000 economically-disadvantaged youth in both Ghana and Uganda, where the same project had also been launched. Dubbed ‘Maso’ literally meaning “lift up”, it is being implemented by a consortium, … Read more
Presidential nominee for the Convention People’s Party, Ivor Greenstreet, says the new cocoa producer price announced by the government is inadequate, and falls short of the investment of the cocoa farmers in the country. “The CPP is of the view that the producer price which has just been fixed at a paltry GHC 475 per … Read more
Cocobod has encouraged the youth to venture into cocoa growing to sustain the industry which has over the years kept the national economy going. Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), said it was rewarding and rallied the young people to increasingly take to that. He was speaking at this year’s International Cocoa … Read more
Government has announced an increment in cocoa price per bag from Gh¢425 to Gh¢475 effective October 1, 2016. A deputy Finance Minister, Cassiel Ato Forson, announced the 2016/17 cocoa price at the 2016 Cocoa Day celebrations at Tepa in the Ahafo Ano North District of the Ashanti region. The event was under the theme: “Transforming … Read more
Government has increased the producer price of cocoa from 6,800 cedis per tonne to 7,600 cedis per tonne for the 2016/17 cocoa season. This means every 64kg bag of cocoa beans will attract 475 cedis representing 77.45 percent increment. Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Cassiel Ato Forson who announced this at this year’s Cocoa … Read more
Government has reviewed upwards the producer price for cocoa at a ceremony to commemorate this year’s national cocoa day in Tepa in the Ashanti Region. The new price will go for GHS 475.00 per bag, 50 cedis higher than what it was previously sold for. This was announced Saturday, by the Deputy Minister of Finance … Read more
One million, four hundred and thirteen thousand, three hundred and thirty three (1,413,333) hectares of cocoa farms in the country have benefited from the free fertilizers under Ghana Cocoa Board’s (COCOBOD) fertilizer and chemical programs in the 2015/2016 cocoa season, myradio360.com can report. According to a statistics by the Cocoa regulator, available to this website, … Read more
The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has signed a $1.8billion cocoa syndicated loan agreement in Frankfurt, Germany, for the 2016/2017 cocoa crop year. The facility will go into the purchase of cocoa beans, pay bonuses and take care of other operations in the cocoa sector. Per the agreement, Ghana is entitled to an extra $200 million … Read more
Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) says it secured US$1.8 billion syndicated loan from a consortium of banks to allow it purchase cocoa beans for the 2016/2017 crop season beginning next month will hit Bank of Ghana’s account within the next two weeks. “The money will soon hit the account. Normally we will have to give them … Read more