Chief Farmer of Suhum Krabo Coaltar District, Nana Debrah Amanor, has stated that proper enforcement of the law on the use of the Akuafo Cheque was critical to reducing theft.
He said it would also help to check the use of counterfeit notes and other malfeasance in the purchase of cocoa in the country.
The Chief Cocoa Farmer from Mfranor in the Eastern region was speaking to the Ghana News Agency at Akim Oda on Wednesday during a visit to farms.
He said the necessary logistics must be provided to enable the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to effectively enforce the use of the Akuafo Cheque.
Nana Amanor, therefore, appealed to the Government to direct the COCOBOD to work out an effective, efficient and convenient Akuafo Cheque
implementation scheme in collaboration with the Central Bank and other commercial and rural banks to enable the Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs)
to effect prompt payment of cocoa to farmers.
He said the world has changed dramatically and that there were increasing pressures on managers and employees to integrate new information and
technology usage in all aspects of the buying companies’ operations to ensure effectiveness, efficiency and farmers satisfaction.
Nana Amanor also charged the LBCs to start putting together measures needed to help to implement the system for the coming main cocoa season.
According to him, it was paramount that the challenges that had bedeviled the Akuafo Cheque system were dealt with promptly to ensure that the country’s realized its target of one million tonnes of cocoa production for the 2010/2011 cocoa season.