A total of 20.240 million cedis has been paid to 27 societies of the Produce Buying Company (PBC) in the Nkawie cocoa district as farmers bonuses for the 2001/2002 main crop season.

Mr Yaw Sarpong, Nkawie District Manager of the PBC, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview at Nkawie that about 1,000 cocoa farmers benefited.

He called on farmers to insist on the use of the Akuafo Cheque system as the mode of payment for their cocoa to ensure that the produce they sold to the company was duly recorded in their passbooks by the marketing clerks to facilitate the working out of their bonuses.

Mr Sarpong reminded the farmers that the government had good intentions for them. They should, therefore, step up the production of cocoa in the district.

In an interview with some farmers, it was clear that they were pleased with their bonuses and expressed gratitude to the government for the increase in the producer price of the commodity and the mass spraying exercise, which had yielded good results and consequently increased their bonuses and pledged to step up production.