Mr Seidu Yor and his wife Zenabu brought the beans from Kumasi, to plant.

The tree defied the drudgery of the scorching sun and harmattan and grew into a fully-fledged cocoa tree and bearing fruits. Mr Yor said and his wife planted the tree about 10 years ago, and its performance gave him hope that cocoa could be grown in some parts of the north.

Asked whether he had been using fertilizer on the tree and spraying it against black pods diseases, he said no. He said he fenced the tree to prevent domestic animals from feeding on it. The two couples challenged agricultural scientists and other researchers to come to Busa and study the performance of the tree and also carry out some feasibility studies on the soil to find out whether cocoa could not be cultivated in large plantations in some of the communities.

 The study of the soil should be extended to other parts of the region, especially Wa East, Sissala East and Sissala West Districts, where Mr Yor said had better climatic conditions similar to the south. The couples said they had the intention of experimenting large scale cultivation of the crop but needed some experts’ advice to ensure that their toil was not in vain.