Members of the Ghana Cocoa, Coffee and Shea-Nut Farmers Association (COCOSHE)
Ghana Cocoa, Coffee and Shea-Nut Farmers Association (COCOSHE), in the Bono East Region, has lauded COCOBOD for introducing a standard digital weighing scale, to streamline the purchasing of cocoa in the country.
This, according to the farmers, would do away with misunderstandings between purchasing clerks (PCs) and farmers.
Nana Kwasi Adjei, the acting Bono East Regional Chief Farmer, in an interview with the Ghanaian Times, on Saturday, in Techiman, indicated that the new scale would be in use from October 1, this year.
The Regional Chief Farmer was elated PCs would no longer adjust new weighing scales, to cheat farmers, because “the new scale will breakdown when someone tampered with it”.
“The digital weighing scale has a security password, which is known to only the manufacturer. It makes noise when the weight is below and above the standard threshold,” he said.
Nana Adjei said that the new scales were sold to local buying companies nationwide, adding that “COCOSHE in collaboration with COCOBOD and the National Investigation Bureau, will form a task force to ensure strict compliance”.
He appealed to the government to complete cocoa roads in the region, including the Nsuta-Nkrankrom stretch, and emphasized the need to establish cocoa museums in the country, especially Techiman.
Nana Adjei advised the youth to venture into agriculture, especially cash crops farming, saying that “Most of the storey buildings in Techiman today, were built by cocoa farmers”.
He commended the government for the institution of an end of service financial support for cocoa farmers in the country, urged the authorities to extend the scheme to include cashew and coffee farmers.
Nana Adjei advised farmers to wear safety boots while on the farm and dress decently, to attract others to agriculture.
“Your safety and security is key to the socio-cultural development of the country. We have to live long to enjoy the fruits of our labour,” Nana Adjei said.
He praised the Department of Agriculture in the region, traditional rulers, farmer-based groups for ‘feeding the country,’ saying “posterity will forever remember you.”