The government has increased the price of cocoa from GHC7,600.00 to GHC8,240.00 a tonne and GHC475.00 to GHC515.00 a bag, Dr. Gyiele Nurah, a Minister of State at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) announced on Tuesday.

That implies 8.42 percentage increment, making it an upward review of GHC640.00 and GHC40.00 for a tonne and a bag respectively.

Dr. Gyiele announced this on behalf of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo- Addo, when he addressed a durbar organised by the Ghana Cocoa Board to mark the 14th National Cocoa Day Celebration at the Jubilee Park in Sunyani.

The programme, on the theme “Sustainable Cocoa Production for Wealth and Health” was attended by people from all walks of life, particularly cocoa farmers and other stakeholders in the cocoa industry to climax the 2019 annual cocoa week celebration under the auspices of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD).

The day was instituted in 2005 by the then government under former President John Agyekum Kufuor to create awareness on numerous health benefits of cocoa consumption and to usher in a new cocoa season.

Dr. Gyiele announced that government would employ 1,343 agriculture extension agents (AEAs)to add to the existing number to provide extension and other support services for cocoa farmers to adopt best cocoa farming practices.

He therefore stressed the need for cocoa farmers to join forces in the form of cooperatives to enable them to enjoy numerous benefits that come with cooperative formation.

Dr Gyiele appealed to the youth to take advantage of the various government interventions to promote the cocoa industry to enter into cocoa farming to create wealth for themselves.

A number of the farmers interviewed by the Ghana News Agency commended government for the increment, despite the fallen price of the commodity at the world market.

A young cocoa farmer from Nkrankwanta in the Dormaa West District of Bono Region who pleaded anonymity confessed that “the government has surprised us because we expected something in the region of GHC C500.00 per bag”.