SPD MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE TOURS SEED GARDEN

Date: 03rd May 2023

The Chairperson for the Management Committee of the Seed Production Division (SPD) of Ghana Cocoa Board, Rev. Prof. Hans Adu-Dapaah, has commended the staff of the Division for working to raise enough cocoa seedlings for supply to farmers across the country for the 2022/23 Crop Season.

Prof. Adu-Dapaah gave the staff a pat on the back when he addressed a portion of the Division’s nursery workers during a two-day field visit by members of the Management Committee to some nursery sites in the Brong Ahafo and Western North regions to assess the state of cocoa seedlings raised for the Season under review.

According to him, such visits afford members the opportunity to have firsthand information on the progress of activities of the Division to aid them in the discharge of the assignments entrusted into their hands by the Board.

According to the chairman, farmers should be ready to receive their seedlings for planting since more than 70% of the expected seedlings output for the year is complete. “We were given 70m seedlings to raise and the Akontombra nursery site has produced more than 10m seedlings ready for replanting, so the Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED) should take it up for distribution”, he added.  

The Deputy Chief Executive in charge of Agronomy and Quality Control (A&QC), Dr. Ebenezer Owusu, was delighted with the work done, adding that, if the target set for every season is met, the industry would experience a massive rise in production.

Dr. Ebenezer Owusu added that the work of SPD needs to be propagated nationwide for the public to also have a fair knowledge about the industry’s work. According to him, it is important for the public to understand the volume of investments being made by the Ghana Cocoa Board in the cocoa industry to ensure value for money.

The team was accompanied by some regional staff.