Between 350 and 400 cocoa-growing communities, especially those in deprived areas, are to be provided with solar street lights by November.

In addition to this, 100 selected cocoa and sheanut producing communities throughout the country have been earmarked for the supply of potable drinking water through the provision of solar-powered water pumps.

President J. A. Kufuor who announced this yesterday, said the Western Region will benefit from 30 of the pumps, while Ashanti will have 15, with Brong-Ahafo, Eastern and Central regions having 10 each.

The Volta, Upper East and Upper West regions will have five each, while the Northern Region will have 10.

The President made the announcement when he inaugurated a GH¢23.7 million, 50,000 tonne capacity warehouse for the Ghana COCOBOD at Tema.

Known as the Dzala Bu warehouse complex, the facility comprises five-unit warehousing blocks with six adjoining loading bays, a container depot, a multi-purpose car park for about 100 trucks, two office buildings with car parks, a changing room, a quality control laboratory a standby general and a 27,000 litres overhead water tank. The five warehouses have been named Sefwi Wiaso, Bonsu Nkwanta, Debiso, Enchi and Dadieso, all cocoa growing districts in the Western Region in appreciation of their contribution to the growth of the cocoa industry.

With the inauguration of the facility, COCOBOD will now cease renting private warehouses from companies such as Tarzan Ghana Limited, Global Haulage and Adwumapa Buyers Limited for Tema Cocoa storage in Tema.

President Kufuor said the provision of solar street lights and solar powered water pumps to selected communities will be on pilot basis and will be replicated in subsequent years.

He noted that cocoa, if not properly and effectively stored for shipment, will result in the nation seriously "short-changed by losses through bean spoilage."

Moreover, he said the nation and the cocoa industry stand to gain the more when in tune with current global trends, the handling of cocoa is mechanised as has been provided for in the warehouse.

"That is the investment that has been made in this complex and with such modernisation, the government expects the highest level of efficiency and accountability," he said.

The President said the increasing yield of cocoa in the past few years and the one million tonnes target by the year 2010 demanded an expansion of facilities at the take-over centres at Tema, Kumasi and Takoradi.

Accordingly, he said, the government has approved COCOBOD’s plan to begin the construction of a 100,000 tonnes capacity warehouse at Kajebril in the Western Region this year.

He said it was unfortunate that some of cocoa’s old threats, like the swollen shoot disease, continue to haunt the industry not only in Ghana, but in other West African countries and called for an ECOWAS initiative to combat it.

A Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Professor George Gyan-Bafour, said the performance of COCOBOD over the years has been most encouraging but stressed the need for the board to avoid complacency.

He said the government is in full support of efforts being made to reach the one million tonnes production level in the very near future.

The Chief Executive of COCOBOD, Mr Isaac Osei, said it is his expectation that malpractices at the ports of operations will be minimised to the barest minimum with the completion of the warehouse which has been installed with weighbridges with a digital weighing system and other facilities.

He commended stakeholders in the industry, especially cocoa farmers, for their hard work and contribution to the continuous growth of the industry.