Wednesday, July 22, 2009

I million tonne cocoa target can be a mirage -Duffour

Dr. Kwabena Duffour, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning says Ghana’s dream of producing one million metric tonnes of cocoa by the 2011/2012 cocoa season could be possible if the major constraints of solving the poor extension support to cocoa farmers were solved.

"If no solution is found to this major constraint to increase farm productivity, this aspiration will remain a mirage and the huge investment in the importation of fertiliser and other inputs for the cocoa programme will be a waste of very scarce resources," Dr. Duffuor.

Attaining the 2010/11production target will position the cocoa sector as the country’s major foreign exchange earner, expected to attract revenue of over US$1.7 billion to support developmental programmes.

Last year, the sector earned about US$1.5 billion, making the cash-crop the second-biggest earner after gold, which registered revenue of US$1.7 billion.

Dr. Sam Mensah, Technical Adviser of the Finance Ministry, made these statements on behalf of Dr. Duffuor in Accra at the opening of a two-day workshop on the New Cocoa Extension System for cocoa farmers under the private-public partnership.

Dr. Duffuor indicated that the cocoa sub-sector is the backbone of the Ghanaian economy and is crucial to addressing the constraints facing the industry to ensure a maximum impact on the nation’s cocoa production.

"Government supports private partnership in achieving among other things innovation and diversity in the provision of extension services, removal of capacity constraints and bottlenecks in the delivery of extension services to cocoa farmers, and creation of added value through synergies between public authorities and private sector," he said.

Mr. Tony Fofie, Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD, disclosed that the current average yield was 400 kilogrammes per hectare whilst research plots at the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana yielded more than two tonnes per hectare.He said the private-public partnership will provide the needed technological and allied information to farmers for the benefit of all the three distinct classes, which are the high, medium and low classes.

Mr. Fofie called on all stakeholders to contribute in making the dream of achieving one million metric tonnes of cocoa in the short-term a reality

Mr. Fofie stated, "An effective and efficient extension system is critical to the efforts to bridge the gap between potential yield and actual output on farmers’ farms."

He explained that there is a vast difference between farmer outputs and outputs from farms managed by the research division of the COCOBOD and that given the right extension services, the difference can be reduced greatly.

‘Our farmers obtain an average of 400kg/ha whilst on research plots at the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana, yields of over 2 tonnes per hectare have been achieved.’ Mr. Fofie explained.

Dr. Yaw Adu-Ampomah, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, COCOBOD, in an interview with B&FT expressed the hope that with the new extension system the set target is attainable.

"With a current production level of about 400kg per hectare, the new extension system if well implemented will see an increase of not less 200kg per hectare.

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