Deputy Chief Executive in charge of Agronomy and Quality Control at COCOBOD, Dr Emmanuel Agyemang Dwomoh, has admonished cocoa farmers to be cautious of weedicides they use on their farms noting that they can affect the cocoa beans.

According to him, the country is currently battling with the issue of chemical residues in the cocoa beans which is delivered to customers at the international market. This, he said is due to the use of unapproved chemicals by our farmers and inappropriate use of the approved chemicals.

Dr Agyemang Dwomoh who was speaking at the 10th anniversary of Cocoa Life programme by Mondelez International advised the cocoa farmers to get closer to their extension agents for advice on the use of chemicals on their farms so that the quality of cocoa beans they produce can be maintained.

He said, “Ghana Cocoa Board and Mondelez International joined hands in the past 10 years to implement the PPP in extension which has empowered farmers to adopt Good Agronomic Practices (GAP) that has seen cocoa production rising from 350, 000 metric tonnes to about 900, 000 metric tonnes.”

He further assured the cocoa farmers that COCOBOD will continue to provide an enabling environment for them to operate for their benefit and the benefit of the farming communities.

“We call on cocoa farmers in the country to ensure responsible cocoa production which seeks to increase productivity while protecting the environment through the use of approved chemicals, planting of economic trees to reduce the effect of climate change on cocoa production,” he noted.

Dr Agyemang Dwomoh stated that COCOBOD has introduced various productivity enhancement programmes such as mass pruning, artificial pollination, rehabilitation of diseased and moribund farms, mass spraying and subsidized fertilizer programme which is aimed towards the improvement of the productivity of cocoa farms across the country.