Accra, Nov. 16, GNA - Finance Minister, Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu said the consistently high production of cocoa achieved since 2002/03 was the result of government's continuous support to the cocoa sector. He said measures such as increased producer prices, bonus payments, effective diseases and pests control programmes, improved agronomic practices and the promotion of new and innovative methods of cocoa farming have resulted in tremendous successes leading to yet another record output in the history of Ghana.

The country achieved a production record of 740,458 metric tonnes during the 2005/2006 Crop Season, representing an increase of 23.0 per cent over the 601,922 metric tonnes achieved in the 2004/05 crop season. Similarly, Mr Baah-Wiredu said, producer prices had been increased consistently, reaching an amount of nine million cedis per tonne during the 2005/06 season. The producer price represented 72.86 per cent of the net Free on Board (FOB) price, 2.86 per cent more than the previously agreed.

He said in view of government's resolve to ensure the welfare of cocoa farmers, a total amount of approximately A2178.2 billion cedis would be used to pay bonuses.

Each farmer will be paid a bonus of A217,140 per bag and will cover a tonnage of 645,985 metric tonnes purchased during the Main Crop Season.

This brings to 608.9 billion cedis the amount of bonus payments made to farmers since 2001.

Mr Baah-Wiredu said 358.5 kilometres of feeder roads were being rehabilitated at a total contract sum of A292.7 billion in the Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Central and Western regions. Works on the roads are expected to be completed in February, 2007.

On the cocoa diseases and pests control programme, the Minister said about A2564.9 billion cedis had so far been spent since its inception six years ago.

In all, 742,213 cocoa farms and 514,361 cocoa farmers had their farms sprayed with either fungicides or insecticides against the black pod disease and capsid respectively.

The programme employed 50,765 youths from local communities within the six cocoa growing regions for the spraying exercise. The total area covered was 1,948,101 hectares made up of 800,000 hectares under the black pod control and 1,148,101 hectares under the capsid control, Mr Baah-Wiredu said.

The Minister said A215.0 billion was paid into the Cocoa Farmers Scholarship Trust Fund in the 2005/06 Season to finance fresh scholarship awards of 2,500 wards of cocoa farmers in second cycle institutions.

The Trust Fund was established by government to finance scholarship awards to wards of cocoa farmers attending second-cycle institutions (Senior Secondary and Technical Schools).

On local processing of cocoa, Mr Baah-Wiredu said in line with government's medium term policy to process 50 per cent of cocoa produced in the country, COCOBOD had signed cocoa beans supply agreement with a number of foreign and local cocoa processing companies, which are setting up cocoa processing plants in Ghana.