The Chief Executive of Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod), Mr Isaac Osei had warned cocoa farmers against the use of unapproved agrochemicals in spraying their cocoa farms.
He explained that, the country had approved only three agro-chemicals for the spraying of cocoa farms because many of the unapproved ones leave chemical residues in the cocoa beans, which could threatened the external marketing of the cocoa beans.
Mr Osei gave the warning at a durbar of cocoa farmers and purchasing clerks from Kyebi and surrounding communities at Kyebi on Tuesday as part of his tour of the Eastern Region.
He said the cocoa sacks are free and advised cocoa farmers not to pay for any cocoa sack supplied to them and warned those cocoa purchasing clerks who were selling the sacks to the farmers to stop the practice.
Mr Osei said government had supplied mosquito nets to be given to cocoa farmers free and said government would be introducing solar torch lights to be sold to cocoa farmers.
Mr George Anto-Boateng, the Director of Scholarships of Cocobod explained that, the number of Cocobod scholarships allocated to the regions and any cocoa growing area depend on the volume of cocoa beans sold by farmers in that cocoa growing area.
He said Cocobod normally allocates 1,700 scholarships for children of cocoa farmers depending on their Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) results and allocate another batch of 800 scholarships to the Senior High Schools for children of cocoa farmers with good academic performance.
Mr Anto-Boateng said this year Eastern Region had 156 scholarships, which were distributed to the various cocoa growing areas in the region depending on the cocoa production in each area.
The East Akim Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Emmanuel Victor Asihene in a welcoming address assured the cocoa farmers that no government would muster courage to change all the good programmes, which is being initiated for them by the government.
He explained that the greatest problem in governance is to get the governed to appreciate the efforts of leadership and therefore expressed his appreciation of the decision of the Chief Executive of Cocobod to go round the country to meet the cocoa farmers at durbars to explain issues to them.