• Ghana plans to increase production of cocoa to 1.5m metric tonnes
• US$600 million loan secured to tackle swollen shoot virus in cocoa-growing areas
• 20% of cocoa-growing areas affected by swollen shoot virus
The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has intentioned to increase the country’s cocoa production to 1.5 million in the medium term.
According to the Chief Executive of the cocoa regulator, Joseph Boahen Aidoo, this would be achieved amid the ongoing rehabilitation of areas affected by the swollen shoot virus of cocoa trees.
Addressing participants at an event to mark the Cocoa Day of the Netherlands Embassy, the COCOBOD Chief Executive disclosed that close to 20 percent of cocoa-growing areas have been impacted by the swollen shoot virus.
“We are working to rehabilitate all devastated areas including overaged cocoa farms. The signal then is that in the medium term, Ghana is likely to move to 1.5 metric tonnes of cocoa and if that is going to happen, it means that service providers have to expand their base.”
“The cocoa industry has been plagued with the devastating impact of the cocoa swollen shoot virus disease. Close to 20 percent of the productive cocoa area in the country has been affected by this disease. This has led to low productivity and low incomes for cocoa farmers,” he continued.
As a result of the swollen shoot virus affecting cocoa growing areas, Ghana has been producing below 800,000 metric tonnes of cocoa. Already, some 12 strains of the swollen shoot virus have been identified by the Cocoa Research Institute.
These strains according to the institute span across the Western Region and its adjoining areas in the Bono and Ahafo Regions and other parts of the country.
To tackle the menace, the Ghana Cocoa Board has secured a loan facility of US$600 million from a consortium of financial institutions led by the African Development Bank spanning seven years.
The loan facility is to among other things address pertinent issues within the cocoa sector.