Ghana’s cocoa industry will benefit from irrigation infrastructure that would boost yields.
According to COCOBOD CEO Joseph Boahen Aidoo, this would guarantee year-round cash crop production and harvest.
Despite the fact that the nation has not paid enough attention to irrigation over the years, significant yields have been reported, particularly in years with enough rainfall during the harmattan season.
Ghana and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) inked a bilateral agreement on climate protection, which is anticipated to spur investments in irrigated cocoa plantations.
According to COCOBOD, Ghanaian cocoa farmers have already surpassed the year’s goal of 900,000 metric tons, harvesting approximately 965,000 metric tons as of June this year.
The previous time a yield of this magnitude was reported was in the 2010/2011 season, when the yield surpassed one million dollars.
During the harmattan season of that year, there was also a lot of rain.
On the margins of a visit of some cocoa fields and a chocolate factory, FairAfric in Suhum, the CEO of Cocobod, Joseph Boahen Adu, told Citi Business News that the government and its partners are contemplating investments in irrigated cocoa plantations to guarantee year-round output.
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“It rained during the harmattan and because of that, farmers have been harvesting throughout the harmattan. Normally it is a dry season and farmers don’t get much of anything at all but because it rained during the dry season this year, farmers have harvested a lot of cocoa and that tells all of us that water is very important in cocoa farming. So this means that if we invest in water, farmers will be harvesting all year round. Unfortunately, we haven’t paid much attention to irrigation and that is what COCOBOD is trying to do now with help from our development partners”.
The COCOBOD/SECO team also paid a visit to an organic cocoa plantation that follows rigorous sustainable chocolate production standards in accordance with climate change protocols.
Simonetta Sommaruga, former President of Switzerland and Federal Councillor to Senegal and Ghana, addressed the media following a visit of the farm, cautioning Ghanaian cocoa producers to be climate aware in their effort to boost cocoa output in the tropics.
“Ghana is a major cocoa producer for Swiss chocolate, which we really appreciate. We know that organic goods are in more demand in Switzerland and many other countries these days, therefore it’s critical that farmers produce in this manner. It will boost demand for such items.”
SECO, for its part, said that Switzerland is contributing 65 million Swiss Francs (about 400 million Ghana cedis) to assist Ghana in complying with climate change regulations.
Source: ATLFMNEWSROOM
