Most Cocoa farmers in the Central Region whose farms have been infected with the swollen shoot disease are refusing to allow the trees to be cut down for fear of losing their farms to the land owners.
Opanyin Yaw Ackom, a cocoa farmer at Breman Adandani who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, said this at farmers rally organized at the weekend by the Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa District Office of the Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease Control Unit (CSSVDU) of the Ghana Cocoa Board at Adandani.
According to him, terms between the cocoa farmers and their landowners are that when the crops die or are uprooted and the land becomes vacant, it goes back to the owner and those who wish to re-crop it have to enter into new negotiations which, in most cases, do not go in favour of the original cocoa farmer.
"That is the more reason most cocoa farmers refused the cutting down of their disease-infested cocoa trees to avoid going into a fresh agreement with landowners, but prefer to continue to enjoy the little harvest from the cocoa tree".
At similar rallies held separately at Ajumako Ochiso and Agona Lower Bobikuma, two cocoa farmers, Mr Joseph Hagan and Kwame Agyei respectively, repeated the same concerns raised by Opanyin Ackom.
Mr Samuel Ankomah, Central Regional Cocoa Extension Officer, expressed dismay about the refusal of the farmers to allow for the destruction of their infected cocoa farms for replanting.
He said the situation was a source of worry to the government because it could have adverse effects on cocoa production in the country.
Mr Ankomah said the government had earmarked money to be paid to farmers whose diseased cocoa trees were cut down, adding that free hybrid cocoa seedlings would also be supplied and technical advise offered by extension workers.
Mr Philip Bedgyera, Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa District Officer of CSSVDUC, said the Cocoa Production Unit(CPU) of the Ghana Cocoa Board had nursed more than 1,000 hybrid cocoa seedlings to be supplied to the affected farmers for replanting.