Likpe-Bala, Nov. 5, GNA - Management of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has initiated farmers' rallies and radio education programmes to combat exploitative labour practices in the cocoa sector. Mr Paul Ntim, Economist and Senior Research Officer, Research Department of COCOBOD announced this at a Cocoa Farmers Rally at Likpe-Bala.

He said the second phase of the programme would begin on November 24 this year, on 18 selected radio stations including Volta Star Radio in Ho.

Mr Ntim said capacity building and community interaction on child labour issues and its worst forms were also being considered. He said the programme was a collaborative effort of COCOBOD and International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) to eliminate inhumane child labour practices in the cocoa sector.

Mr Ntim said Ghana had a National Programme for the Elimination of Worst Forms of Child Labour in Cocoa (NPECLC) until 2011. He explained that the worst forms of child labour include child trafficking, forced labour, exploitations, slavery, servitude, prostitution and pornography.

Mr Ntim said under the programme, a child was someone under 18 years and child labour constituted exploitation that impeded the education, health, moral, safety and total development of the child. Mr Barnett Quaicoo, Senior Research Officer, COCOBOD said results from the first phase of radio sensitization programme showed that 98 per cent awareness, understanding and interest was attained in the targeted area.

He announced that the Volta Star Radio programme would be on Fridays from 1900 hours to 2000 hours with opportunity for listeners to call in to ask questions and make contributions and offer suggestions. Mr Quaicoo explained that the scheme was not to discourage transfer of skills and knowledge to children but to emphasize that children must undertake only minimum tasks and lesser workload.

Participants commended management of COCOBOD for the initiative and expressed the desire that government extended the cocoa farms rehabilitation exercise to the area to increase production. They also appealed to managements of mobile phone companies to bridge accessibility gap in all cocoa growing areas.