Kuntanase (Ash), Sept.16, GNA - Beneficiary farmers have paid only 10 billion cedis out of the over 140 billion cedis invested by the Government in the Cocoa Hi-Tech Project.

Dr Michael Roy Appiah, Executive Director of the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) who disclosed this said it was most unfortunate that although the project had been beneficial to cocoa farmers they had refused to pay for the inputs supplied. He said their refusal to pay for the inputs supplied could bring the project to a halt and that would be a big blow to the Government and farmers.

Dr Appiah who is also the Chairman of the Project Implementation Committee was speaking at a Forum organised at Kuntanase in the Bosomtwe-Atwima-Kwanwoma District in the Ashanti Region.

The delegates were from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), Cocoa Purchasing Clerks in the District and CRIG. Dr Appiah said the Government had put in place stringent measures to force beneficiary farmers to re-pay the money to sustain the project. Nana Matthew Adarkwa, Bosomtwe-Atwima-Kwanwoma District Chief farmer, called on Purchasing Clerks to help enforce payment of the money from the farmers.

He asked Cocoa farmers to endeavour to re-pay the money to sustain the project.