Asankrangwa (W/R), Nov. 26, GNA - The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has organised its fifth annual farmer's awards ceremony at Asankrangwa in the Amenfi West District during which 13 farmers were honoured for their dedication and hard work.

They received items including cutlasses, Wellington boots, solar lamps pieces of cloth and certificates. Mr Samuel Alberto Terkyi, Wassa Amenfi West District Chief Executive (DCE), in an address urged the COCOBOD to decentralise the award of scholarship to children of cocoa farmers by involving the various district assemblies in the scholarship award scheme. He said this would ensure that only the children of genuine cocoa farmers benefited from the scheme whose objective was to support the education of these farmers.

The DCE appealed to the COCOBOD to assist district assemblies and the Department of Feeder Roads to rehabilitate road in cocoa growing areas.

Mr Samuel Dabo, Asankrangwa District Manager of the Produce Buying Company urged farmers to maintain the high quality of cocoa produced in Ghana by observing the time tested method of fermenting and drying of cocoa beans.

Nana Adu Boahene I, Gyaasehene of Asankrangwa who presided urged the COCOBOD to remove all bottlenecks in the Akuafo cheque system to enable farmers to cash their cheques without any difficulty. One of the award winners, Opanin Kwame Gyamfi of Jerusalem-Manukrom Society who spoke to the GNA, urged farmers to continue to work hard to sustain the growth of the cocoa industry. 26 Nov. 05