Thirty-two thousand, two hundred and three (3,223) cocoa farmers in the Ahafo-Ano North and South Districts have been rewarded with bonus payments totaling GH¢322,560.00.

The quality of cocoa beans sold to Noble Resources, through Federated Commodities, a licensed buying company, earned the farmers the premium. They sold 3,337.4 metric tonnes representing 53,398 bags of beans, which met the certification by the international body, UTZ, last year.

The farmers, who have come together under the Ahafo-Ano North and South Cocoa Farmers Association, are beneficiaries of a rigorous training in good agricultural practices, sponsored by UTZ, to improve crop yield and returns.

Mr Edmund Quaye, Country Representative of Noble Resources, announced the bonus payment at the annual general meeting of the farmers at Mankranso in the Ahafo-Ano South District.

He commended them for the hard work and sticking to best practices to sustain the quality of Ghana’s cocoa.

Mr Isaac Gyamfi, Managing Director of Solidaridad (West Africa), a Dutch International Development Organisation involved in the promotion of sustainable agriculture, said the body had under the UTZ certification code of conduct, trained more than 5,000 farmers.

The beneficiaries are in 155 communities selected from Ashanti and Brong Ahafo Regions. Mr David Annan, Human Resources Manager, Cocoa Swollen Shoot and Virus Control Unit, Cocoa Board, said cocoa certification had come to stay and urged the farmers to uphold best production practices.

They should not only maintain the quality of the cocoa beans but to also adopt a more business-like approach to farming.