The Produce Buying Company (PBC), a cocoa purchasing company of the COCOBOD awarded 279 cocoa farmers, the Eastern Regional Minister, Dr. Francis Osafo Mensah and some of his staff for their contributions towards increased cocoa production and purchases in the region.

The award winners included 202 cocoa farmers from the societies, 60 PBC staff and 17 district and regional best farmers.

They received items such as wall clocks, pieces of wax prints, Wellington boots, cutlasses, spraying machines and certificates.

Addressing the award winners at Nkawkaw, Dr. Osafo Mensah said since agriculture is the engine of growth for the country's economy, as well as a major source of employment in the communities, the government has put in place a lot of measures including the mass cocoa spraying exercise to enhance cocoa production in the country.

He said, 525 spraying gangs have been formed in all the nine cocoa districts in the region and called on all stakeholders in the cocoa industry, including the PBC to co-operate to ensure the success of the exercise to increase production.

The Regional Minister commended PBC, which purchases between 36 to 40 percent of the country's cocoa, for awarding the farmers and staff and urged the company to take stock and evaluate its performances to correct all anomalies to ensure efficient and effective management of the company.

The Eastern Regional Manager of PBC, Mr. Stephen Yeboah said, the privatisation of internal marketing of cocoa is to ensure effective competition to avoid monopoly that had affected the development of the cocoa industry.

He said some of the companies failed to keep proper records on the cocoa farmers for effective payment of bonuses, while others failed to purchase well-dried cocoa beans, which affects the quality of the country's cocoa on the world market.

He therefore, urged the cocoa farmers to send their produces to PBC societies to ensure prompt payment and other benefits to enhance their living standards.

Mr. Yeboah appealed to COCOBOD to increase the allowances of the PBC purchasing clerks and reduce the high interest rates on funds giving to the company for the purchase of cocoa since they spent huge sums of money to rehabilitate feeder roads and cocoa sheds in the cocoa producing areas.

He advised the purchasing clerks to avoid malpractices during their operations to maintain the confidence the farmers have in the company.

Mr. Abraham Kweku Adusei, who won the regional best farmer award commended the government for the payment of bonuses and the mass spraying exercise, which, he said, would help increase production.

He advised the farmers to ensure regular maintenance of their farms to increase their yields.