British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Friday visited a cocoa farm on the second-day of his three-day official visit to Ghana at Nankese in the Suhum-Kraboa-Coaltar District of the Eastern Region.

The farm belongs to 96-year-old Opanin Ben Cudjoe, a member of the Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Union (KKU), farmers' co-operative organisation established in 1993 to improve the living standards of cocoa farmers.

Prime Minister Blair witnessed the breaking of cocoa pods to release the beans and spent about 15 minutes to inspect the farm accompanied by President John Agyekum Kufuor.

For decades, cocoa has been the mainstay of Ghana's economy. Ghana has always been among the first three on the table of producers in the world. Cocoa production has been well above the 300,000-tonnes mark for several years after drought and bushfires in 1983 led to the plummeting of production to less than 200,000 tonnes.

Production for the 1996/97-crop year was 322,488 tonnes, rising to 409,382 tonnes in 1997/98. Production slipped to 397,675 tonnes in 1998/99, rose to 436,946 in

1999/2000 and then dipped to 389,800 tonnes in 2000/2001-crop year.

Mr K. Ohemeng-Tinyase, Managing Director of Kuapa Kokoo Limited, briefing Mr Blair, said Twin Limited a London-based NGO, which promotes trade relations between the North and South, assisted the company in its establishment with funds and technical support.

He said Comic Relief-London, another NGO, had also supported the company and had for the past seven years provided about 328,387 pounds sterling to the company.

Fair Trade Labelling Organisations, an organisation of friends of fair trade, had helped Kuapa Kokoo to sell its produce. Mr Ohemeng-Tinyase said in 1994, Comic Relief gave the company 36,180 pounds sterling through Twin Trading-London for the establishment of the KKU.

Prime Minister Blair said efforts should be made to make farm produce, especially cash crops in developing countries, have access to the markets for farmers to have value for their toil and improve their living standards.

Impressed about the relationship between Comic Relief and the company, he said many more people would be encouraged to donate to the organisation to enable it contribute to improving the standard of living of the people.