Mr. Yaw Biredu Boateng, the Chief Cocoa Farmer of New Nsutam in the Eastern Region, has called for the protection of cocoa farms as it has been done for the rubber plantations to preserve the trees from destruction.
He said the timber merchants invaded cocoa farms in the area, fell the timber, and carted them through the farms resulting in uprooting and destroying some of the cocoa trees.
He said galamsey operators also used excavators to dig trenches, thereby causing destruction of the cocoa farms.
Mr. Boateng said cocoa production is dwindling and if care is not taken, inputs to help increase yield would be a waste due to the activities of timber and galamsey operators.
“Cocoa is the back-bone of Ghana’s economy, therefore, there is a need to adequately secure the farms by the rules and regulations since the cocoa farms sustain the economy,” he said.
According to him, the rubber plantations in the Western Region, on the contrary, were given adequate security, which protected growers from the wanton destruction of their rubber trees.
Source: Agrictoday.com
