2021 MOST ENTERPRISING FEMALE COCOA FARMER RECEIVES GH¢250,000.00

Date: 29th April 2022

Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has presented Madam Adjoa Sintim, the 2021 Most Enterprising Female Cocoa Farmer with a supplementary prize of GH¢250,000.00.

The prize was donated by the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) in fulfilment of a pledge ahead of the 2021 National Farmers’ Day celebration to finance COCOBOD’s award package for the 2021 Most Enterprising Female Cocoa Farmer, however, the management of COCOBOD decided to present Madam Sintim with the full donated sum in addition to her original award package from COCOBOD.

The award recognises her hard work towards the sustenance of cocoa farming as well as her invaluable impact in ensuring sustainable livelihood interventions in farming communities in the Ahafo, Eastern and Ashanti Regions.

Management of the Board used the opportunity to encourage women in cocoa farming to continue to play their respective roles in sustaining the cocoa economy and appreciated the vital support from the WCF.

The Chief Executive of COCOBOD, Hon Joseph Boahen Aidoo thanked WCF and lauded its commitment to cocoa farmers, particularly, women in cocoa farming. He expressed the need for continued monetary assistance and collaboration with the foundation for their collective interest.

‘So far, we are pleased with the efforts of the WCF and the financial support the foundation provides, as it goes a long way to financially cushion the Board to fund activities in support of cocoa farmers’, he said.

Hon Aidoo urged Madam Sintim to continue in her strides and advised her to plough back the fund into her cocoa business while encouraging her to set up an educational fund in remembrance of the award.

He implored cocoa farmers to adopt and invest in modern technologies like irrigation and hand pollination alongside adherence to the existing agronomic interventions prescribed by the Board to enhance production and mitigate the effects of climate change on production.

The Country Director of the WCF, Dr Betty Annan expressed her organisation’s commitment to serving the interest of cocoa farmers, especially women in cocoa farming and recognised the instrumental roles women play in community development and nation-building efforts.

She congratulated the awardee for her hard work and indicated that she is the pioneer beneficiary of the initiative to be given an amount of that magnitude and advised her not to rest on her oars.

‘The 2022 cash prize will be increased to GH¢300,000.00 where the best awardee will be given Gh¢100,000.00 from the amount while the remaining Gh¢200,000.00 spread across other award categories, as incentives for them,” Dr Annan disclosed.

Receiving the prize, the 69-year-old best female enterprising farmer expressed her gratitude to the management of COCOBOD for the support and to WCF for their commitment to financially empower women in cocoa farming.

She reiterated her commitment to her cocoa trade and further revealed her dedication to increase investments into schools, toilets and material resources which she has funded over the years at Sankore, Dunkwa and Subriso communities.

Madam Sintim appealed to COCOBOD management to support and facilitate irrigation and road projects to address major bottlenecks in cocoa production in these communities. She re-echoed the request for the timely supply and delivery of farm inputs such as fertilizers to farmers, stating that the move is a paramount determinant of produce yields.