Goka (B/A), Oct. 6, GNA - Dormaa Municipal Assembly has banned the practice in which cocoa beans produced in the municipality end up bearing the seal of other cocoa districts before entering the ports for export. Mr. Vincent Oppong Asamoah, the Dormaa Municipal Chief Executive, announced the ban during his tour of some cocoa producing communities in the municipality.

He said the assembly was compelled by the negative effects of the existing practice to stop the shifting of reward of gallant farmers of the area to other areas where less cocoa was produced. The MCE said a team of security personnel, assembly members and accredited revenue collectors would mount daily checkpoints at vantage places between Nkrankwanta cocoa district and Kasapin, where most of the cocoa ended up being sealed in the name of other districts.

Mr. Asamoah explained to all the communities he visited that if they allowed their cocoa to be sealed in the name of sister producing districts they would continue losing benefits of cocoa farming. He said the numbers of spraying gangs, cocoa spraying chemicals, COCOBOD scholarships as well as the rehabilitation of cocoa roads in each producing district were largely influenced by the quantum of cocoa emanating from the area. "For instance since much of the cocoa we produced here was sealed in the names of Kasapin, Asutifi and Berekum last year, the COCOBOD granted us only three scholarships while Kasapin had 23", Mr. Asamoah said.

He appealed to the cocoa farmers and purchasing companies and their clerks to assist the assembly to implement the ban to the letter to ensure that all cocoa emanating from the municipality to guarantee equal benefits for equal production. Mr Asamoah said the assembly would deal ruthlessly with any group or individual who would seek to undermine the ban in order to perpetuate the status quo for their personal gains. 06 Oct 09