Twifo Ntafrewaso (C/R), Nov. 19, GNA - The management of the Twifo-Oil Palm Plantation (TOPP) Limited, has appealed to the government to rehabilitate feeder roads in the company's operational area in order to increase its coverage and oil production for the benefit of the country. It also called for the inclusion of the company's small-holder farmers in the recently announced package of fertilizer subsidy for farmers by government. Mr Neneyo Mate-Kole, Managing Director of TOPP made the appeal at the first Awards Day ceremony for the company's small-holder farmers at Twifo Ntafrewaso.

He said the awards scheme was instituted by the management to give farmers recognition and to confirm the importance of purchased crops to the company.

A total of 77 farmers received awards ranging from wax prints, bicycles, television sets, cutlasses, Wellington boots, spraying machine, sound systems, detergents and roofing sheets. Mr Mate-Kole enumerated a number of challenges facing the plantation's operations.

These included stealing of fresh fruit bunches (FFB), poor field maintenance by some farmers, diversion of crops by farmers and poor road network. The Managing Director called on the farmers association to join hands with management to deal with these challenges for their mutual benefit. Mr Mate-Kole said despite these challenges the plantation recorded significant production increases during the season.

Mr Mate-Kole said as at the end of October 2008 FFB purchased from small-holder and out-grower farmers was 63,114 metric tons as against a target of 53,906 metric tons and previous years' performance of 40,046 metric tons. This represented an increase of 57.6 per cent. He said output from outside purchased fruits (OPF) also continued to increase and that as at now, the OPF component of the total FFB milled at TOPP stands at between 40 and 60 per cent, with the fruit collection base expanding over four regions, Central, Western Eastern and Ashanti.

Mr Mate-Kole said in pursuance of the programme to improve oil palm yield, an appeal by the management to landowners within its catchments area to release land for bloc farms has not yielded the desired response.

"We have been compelled to move to Buaben, which is 51 kilometres away, to establish a 3,000 hectare plantation," he said, adding that, by this initiative "Dura" purchases in future would be reduced. The "Dura" is a palm fruit variety that has lower oil content than the preferred "Tenera" variety.

Mr Mate-Kole renewed his appeal to out grower farmers to replace the Dura trees with that of Tenera.

Currently the company is registering Tenera farmers to help them with inputs such as fertilizers, farm maintenance cost and also infrastructural work, such as road and bridge repairs. On the forthcoming presidential and parliamentary elections, Mr Mate-Kole reminded the farmers that the election is a matter of choice in which one may win or loose.

He said for the sake of peace, "we should all be prepared to accept what the majority says, whether we are winners or losers."

Mr Anthony Baofo Adjei, Chairman of Small-Holders Association commended TOPP for instituting the awards day and expressed the hope that this would motivate them to work harder to increase production. He appealed to management of TOPP to institute scholarship scheme for farmers' wards at Senior High Schools. Mr Adjei also appealed to management to adjust upwards the price of the fresh fruits and also review the small-holder tenancy agreement to make it more beneficial to farmers.

Mr Emmanuel Acquaye, the District Director of Agriculture, who chaired the function, said about 45 per cent of farmers who enter into plantation cropping, commit all the land to the plantation crop without thinking about other food crops. He therefore appealed to chiefs to make it conditional for new comers seeking land for plantation to set aside at least one acre for food production.

Mr Emmanuel Agyeman, Presiding Member of Twifo-Heman-Lower Dankyira District Assembly commended the management for instituting the scheme and assisting the Assembly in diverse ways.