Over 200 representatives of cocoa farmers groups across the country have gathered to discuss challenges in the sector as part of efforts to improve production.
Though Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has announced that attainment of one million tonnes cocoa production target ahead of the 2012 year, there are still pertinent issues which the farmers and other stakeholders think need to be addressed.
In line with this, COCOBOD in partnership with Sustainable Tree Crop Programme (STCP) of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture with support from the European Unioin has organized a two-day Cocoa Farmers’ Forum at the Kofi Annan ICT Center in Accra.
Themed, “Cocoa Farmers: Contributing towards policy formulation and implementation,” the forum would also create the platform for cocoa farmers to provide inputs into policy formulation.
What makes the forum unique, according to the organizer, is the opportunity to discuss the pertinent challenges with respect to cocoa production as perceived by the farmers to come out with proposed farmer-led actions to address these challenges and how the cocoa value chain can be improved and sustained.
The programme, which is being organized under the Cocoa Sector Support Program Phase II (CSS II) funded by the European Union and implemented jointly by the COCOBOD and
the Sustainable Tree Crops Program of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture
who have initiated different interventions including facilitating community level self organization of farmers.
The forum, which is the second of its kind, will also facilitate the integration of cocoa farmer groups and associations into sector policy discussions and formulation and also create a nation awareness especially among cocoa farmers to be part of decision-making towards achieving national production target, as well as enlighten policy makers on farmers’ perspectives on needed actions for improved productivity.
The first forum organized last year in the Ashanti region hosted 48 cocoa farmers,
representing 15 districts from Western, Ashanti and Brong Ahafo regions as well as
representatives of stakeholders including COCOBOD and the Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus
Disease Control Unit.
Based on the outcome of the first forum, there was community level engagement of farmers under the Cocoa Sector Support Programme with participation from the leadership of the community farmer groups as well as representatives of the Ghana Cocoa Coffee Sheanut Farmers Association and this year’s forum is expected to build on this initiative.
Isaac Gyamfi, Country Manager for the Sustainable Tree Crops Program International Institute of Tropical Agric was excited about the programme and said the approach will help to gradually develop the culture of making cocoa farmers and their groups more responsible and less dependent on state efforts and rather perceive state support for the cocoa sector as complimentary.
He expressed his outfit’s commitment to continue to partner with farmers in various
programmes to seek innovative farmer-led actions that impact policies on cocoa for increased cocoa production to impact the income and livelihoods of cocoa farmers and their families.
Sustainable Tree Crop Programme is a public-private partnership and innovative platform that seeks to generate growth in rural income among tree crop farmers in an environmentally and socially responsible manner in West and Central Africa.
The programme is managed by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and
provides a framework for collaboration between farmers, the global cocoa industry, local
private sector, national governments, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), research institutes, and development investors.
By Emelia Ennin Abbey
No comments:
Post a Comment