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GHANA WEATHER

COCOBOD encourages more youth to get into cocoa farming

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Cocoa farmers in Ghana implementing the Artificial Pollination Technique as part of a pilot programme, harvested not less than 20 bags of Cocoa from an acre of land. This is 600 per cent more than the previous record of three bags per acre.

To consolidate the gains of the pollination programme, the Ghana Cocoa Board is to further increase the intake of farmers from the current 20,000 to 30,000 next year. The youth in the cocoa communities constitute the bedrock of the pilot programme.

The Chief Executive of COCOBOD, Joseph Boahen Aidoo announced this at the first Youth in Cocoa Conference in Kumasi. It was organized by Solidaridad West Africa under the auspices of the Next Generation Cocoa Youth Programme.

The conference sought to provide a platform for youth in cocoa farming to interact and engage with stakeholders in the sector towards youth inclusion in the cocoa supply chain.  Mr. Boahen Aidoo, said the future of the cocoa industry in Ghana is the youth, however research shows that currently, the average age of the cocoa farmer is 55.

This is a threat to the sustainability of the industry and job security for millions of Ghanaians whose livelihood depend on sustainable cocoa supply chain.

Mr. Boahen Aidoo, said the focus of COCOBOD is to solve low productivity in the sector and lay a firm foundation that will stimulate the interest of the youth and make cocoa production a target business venture.

The Ghana Country Representative of Solidaridad West Africa, Suzan-Hermina Yemidi explained that the Next Generation Cocoa Youth Programme, aims at equipping the youth with the skills required to enable them to successfully operate as confident and informed entrepreneurs within the Cocoa Value Chain.

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