MULTI-PURPOSE OFFICE COMPLEX INAUGURATED FOR CHED

Date: 04th November 2024

The Walmart Foundation, in collaboration with PROFOREST and its partners, has donated a multi-purpose Rural Service Centre to the Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED) in the Dadiesoaba District, located in the Brong Ahafo Region. 

The facility, equipped with modern amenities such as training centres, administrative offices, and dedicated spaces to support local farmers' activities, was made possible through a partnership involving Dadiesoaba CHED, the Hotspot Intervention Area (HIA), and PROFOREST under the Climate Change and Emission Reduction Program (REDD+).

Explaining the purpose of the office complex in an interview with COCOBOD News, the Executive Director of CHED, Rev. Dr. Edwin Afari, said the office would go a long way to support the operations of CHED, particularly in the coordinating activities under the Cocoa Management System (CMS) and the Ghana Cocoa Traceability System (GCTS). According to him, farmers can have easy access to extension service delivery, as well as other forms of training to enhance their on-farm activities.

“This is a laudable initiative that will bring farmers closer to CHED staff and enhance their daily interactions with farmers at Dadiesoaba and its environs. Farmers can have access to the right sources of inputs at highly subsidised fees, which will also solve the problem of farmers having to procure adulterated chemicals to apply on their farms”, he emphasised.

Rev Afari further underscored the importance of building relationships with community-based groups and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), stressing that such collaborations would help assuage the huge responsibility of the government and COCOBOD in providing resources for cocoa farmers.

The Brong Ahafo Regional Manager of CHED, Mr. Kingsford Kabutey, urged the management of the Service Centre, CREMA, to give their best in the day-to-day running of the facility. 

Present at the official commissioning of the project were representatives of the PROFOREST, CHED (Dadiesoaba), the Traditional Council, Community Resource Management Area (CREMA), World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) and Tropenboss. Traditional leaders from surrounding communities were also in attendance.