TIG Post

Tag: COCOBOD

  • Today in History: Ignore malicious, false reports; Ghana’s cocoa export not under any threat – COCOBOD

    According to reports from 2021, the shipment of cocoa from Ghana to the international market was in grave jeopardy due to complaints from enterprises involved in the project about treatment they had received from the Cocoa Marketing Company (Gh.) Ltd. (CMC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of COCOBOD.

    However, according to a statement from COCOBOD, “CMC performs this duty wonderfully with highly qualified and competent people and has over Sixty (60) years of experience in the shipment of cocoa.
    The allocation and determination of shipments are just two of its well-structured and defined processes.

    Management of the Ghana Cocoa Board has denounced a publication suggesting that Ghana’s Cocoa export is under threat.

    The publication stated that the shipment of Ghana’s cocoa to the global market was under serious threat, as companies involved in the exercise were crying foul over maltreatment meted out to them by the Cocoa Marketing Company (Gh.) Ltd (CMC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of COCOBOD.

    But the Management of COCOBOD says the report is ill-considered, false, and malicious.

    In a statement, COCOBOD indicated that “CMC has over Sixty (60) years of experience in the shipment of cocoa and performs this role exceptionally with highly skilled and competent staff. All of its operations, including the determination and allocation of shipments, are well defined and structured.”

    Adding that “these structures do not allow any individual or group of individuals to have undue leverage in determining which shipping lines get freight allocations.”

    Expressing shock at the publication, COCOBOD’s Management said “as of the date of the publication, neither COCOBOD nor CMC’s attention had been drawn to any such threat(s) and/or intimidation from its staff or have by themselves issued any such threat to any shipping line in the determination and allocations of shipments as alleged by the newspaper”.

    The management has therefore called on the Newspaper to retract its publication and apologise or they will advise themselves on the next level of action.

    Read Full Statement Here

    RE: COCOA EXPORT UNDER THREAT

    The attention of the Management of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has been drawn to a front-page story in the Wednesday, 29th September 2021 edition of your newspaper, with the above-stated headline.

    The publication stated that the shipment of Ghana’s cocoa to the global market was under serious threat, as companies involved in the exercise were crying foul over maltreatment meted out to them by the Cocoa Marketing Company (Gh.) Ltd (CMC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of COCOBOD.

    Management of COCOBOD finds the allegation ill-considered, false and malicious, and would wish to state the following;

    CMC has over Sixty (60) years of experience in the shipment of cocoa and performs this role exceptionally with highly skilled and competent staff.

    All of its operations, including the determination and allocation of shipments, are well defined and structured.

    These structures do not allow any individual or group of individuals to have undue leverage in determining which shipping lines get freight allocations.

    As at the date of the publication, neither COCOBOD nor CMC’s attention had been drawn to any such threat(s) and/or intimidation from its staff or have by themselves issued any such threat to any shipping line in the determination and allocations of shipments as alleged by the newspaper.

    COCOBOD thus requires the paper to make available to it the petition it claims to have in its possession on the alleged threat(s) and intimidation from its staff.

    It is clear from the publication that the writer does not understand the business of COCOBOD and its subsidiary, the Cocoa Marketing Company (Gh.) Ltd.

    We would, therefore, advise that the paper retracts the publication and offer an unqualified apology to the regulator of Ghana’s cocoa industry – COCOBOD and its subsidiary since such unfounded publications tarnish the hard-earned reputation of Ghana’s cocoa industry in the international business arena.

    Should The Inquisitor newspaper fail to do so, COCOBOD and CMC reserve the right to seek appropriate redress.

  • RECALL: Government is robbing cocoa farmers – Ato Forson

    It was said that cocoa farmers will lose money as a result of the Ghana Cocoa Board maintaining the producer price for the procurement of cocoa at GH475 per bag of 64kg for the crop season of 2018/2019.

    Even if this was done to protect cocoa producers, Cassiel Ato Forson, the chairman of the government’s finance committee, pointed out that it was actually the government’s manner of looting the farmers.

    He said that the administration had misled the farmers.

    According to Cassiel Ato Forson, a former chairman of the Cocoa Producer Price Review Committee, maintaining the producer price for cocoa at GHC475 per bag of 64 kilograms for the crop season of 2018/2019 will cost the farmer GHC35.75 each bag of cocoa.

    Mr. Forson accused the government of duping the cocoa farmers by determining prices with an exchange rate of 4.54 instead of 4.8.

    The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto during the 2018 Cocoa Day Grand Durbar announced that the government has maintained the producer price of cocoa for the 2018/2019 cocoa season at GH¢7,600 per tonne, translating into GH¢475 per bag of 64 kilogramme (kg) gross weight.

    According to the Minister, the decline in the price of the commodity on the international market, which had forced all the other 21 producing countries to slash their producer prices, made it impossible for the government to review the producer price upwards.

    Speaking on Citi TV’s Point of View, the former Deputy Minister of Finance expressed disappointment in the government and COCOBOD for being insensitive toward cocoa farmers in the country.

    He argues that cocoa prices must be calculated based on BoG’s rate of 4.8% since “COCOBOD only sells to the Central Bank. The Central Bank is the only one with that ability to absorb 1.3 billion, the rest will not have that ability”.

    “…Looking at the volume and projected 900,000 metric tonnes with that exchange rate, the farmer is shortchanged by 287million US dollars. And that 287million US dollars if you’re to translate it, you’re talking of something about GHC1.2 billion,” he further explained.

    “Based on the Bank of Ghana figures that I have, as of September for instance is at 4.7655. We projected that because of the trend we’ll end October, by the time the drop-down is made, we’ll be hovering around 4.8 because of the trend analysis,” the former Deputy Finance Minister said.

    He urged the Ghana Cocoa Board and the government “to do what is right to ensure that the cocoa farmer, as we all know they’ve contributed so much to the prosperity of this country.”

  • Farmers surrender cocoa farms for galamsey

    According to the Ghana Civil-society Cocoa Platform (GCCP), uncompetitive cocoa prices on the global market are encouraging cocoa farmers in gold-producing regions to surrender farmlands for illicit mining activities.

    Given that cocoa has historically been the primary cash crop and the foundation of the economy, the situation is pretty alarming.
    Ghana currently ranks second to Cote d’Ivoire in terms of cocoa production.

    According to GCCP, Ghana’s common cocoa farmers are feeling the effects of the uncompetitive cocoa prices on the global market.
    As a result, landowners and cocoa farmers are selling their land to miners for cash.

    “They do not feel that their efforts and toil are being properly and fairly compensated, hence they cash-in and move out of the cocoa space,” the group stated.

    The emerging development, the group said, remains a threat to long-term survivability of the cocoa industry.

    Given this, the civil society group asserted that increasing the farm gate-price to levels that are commensurate with the work farmers put into producing cocoa beans is the surest solution to making the cocoa industry competitive.

    In a statement issued by the independent campaign and advocacy platform for civil society actors in the cocoa sector, they argued that based on the working assumption of the Producer Price Review Committee (PPRC) of COCOBOD, cocoa farmers should receive a minimum of GH₵838 (US$98) per bag (62.5kg) of cocoa beans.

    This figure was arrived at using the lowest projected values available including a LID of US$400 per tonne as agreed, according to the GCCP.

    “As we always do, we have also looked at the numbers; and based on our very modest and somewhat conservative estimates, have arrived at a minimum 15-20 percent increment in the farm-gate price of cocoa for this season,” the statement captured.

    Furthermore, they said this expectation was reached while taking note of all the challenges posed by the unstable Ghanaian cedi, threats posed by mining and the need for farmers to be paid adequate and commensurate prices for their efforts.

    The current International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) world cocoa market price – which averages Europe, New York and London futures stands at US$2,248 per tonne of cocoa beans.

    “We also acknowledge the fact that Ghana is ‘forced’ to sell cocoa on the terminal market at a discounted price. Again, there has been a drastic drop in the origin differential/country premium – from over US$400 to a current US$65.

    “In effect, the expectation is that the net country cocoa selling price (producer price) will be not less than US$2,103. Based on the 2020/2021 parameters for calculating the net FoB for cocoa beans, GCCP observed that the net FoB for the 2022/2023 cocoa season to be not less than 80 percent of the prevailing producer price, which should be around US$1,682.

    “By applying the PPRC working assumption of a minimum of 70 percent of net FoB going to farmers, this translates into US$1,178 per tonne for the farmer. This figure is less than the US$400 LID that was instituted and charged by COCOBOD on all futures for the 2020/2021 cocoa season.

    “Assuming COCOBOD gives all the US$400 LID to the farmers, it brings the farm-gate price to US$1,578 per tonne for the 2022/2023 cocoa season. Using the year-on-year Bank of Ghana (BoG) exchange rate of US$1 to GH₵8.5, cocoa farmers are expected to receive not less than GH₵13,413 per tonne of cocoa beans – which should translate into a minimum GH₵838 per bag of cocoa beans.”

    It further reiterated that these estimations are based on the minimum projected figures, and the assumption that farmers will receive a minimum 100 percent of LID.

  • COCOBOD encourages consumption of local cocoa products

    Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has organised an open display of cocoa products, organic fertilisers, and agrochemical inputs as part of activities to commemorate Cocoa Day on October 1, 2022.

    The open exhibition on the theme: “COCOBOD @ 75: Sustaining our environment, prosperity, and health,” was held in the Eastern Regional town of Suhum.

    Ghana Cocoa Day is celebrated every year on October 1 to honour valiant men and women cocoa farmers whose sweat and toil have contributed to the country’s cocoa industry’s long-term viability.

    Mr Emmanuel Ray Ankrah, the Deputy Chief Executive of COCOBOD in charge of Finance and Administration, said the Chief Executive of COCOBOD, underlined the major contribution of cocoa to Ghana’s socio-economic growth.

    He expressed worry about how illegal mining was negatively impacting the cocoa industry and jeopardising farmers’ livelihoods.

    “In our efforts to improve the lives of cocoa farmers and the fortunes of the industry, we face an unprecedented challenge of illegal mining, which has the potential not only to cripple the cocoa sector but also threaten our basic means of survival as humans.”

    He stated that the situation, along with recent calls from global consumers, the European Union, and other trade partners for more environmentally friendly and sustainable farming techniques, has necessitated a more aggressive approach to sustaining cocoa production.

    He shed light on how essential minerals present in cocoa beans, such as fat, protein, and antioxidants, could cure or prevent cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, insomnia, and body aches, as well as help in the process of slowing down the ageing process.

    As a result, he urged Ghanaians to consume local cocoa products, saying, “Let us demonstrate our commitment to this course by serving cocoa drinks at our naming ceremonies, weddings, parties, funerals, state functions, in all social gatherings and homes.”

    Mr Seth Kwame Acheampong, Eastern Regional Minister, indicated that the government was working to implement policies and programmes that would improve farmers’ social and economic well-being, citing a pension scheme for cocoa growers as one example.

    He also praised cocoa farmers for defying all odds to produce “the golden beans” that have helped Ghana’s reputation at the international level for decades.

    Osabarima Ayeh Kofi, the Suhum Chief, expressed gratitude to COCOBOD for choosing Suhum as the location for this year’s Cocoa Day celebration.

    Several companies and financial institutions, including New OKAFF Industries Limited, a manufacturer of insecticide and anti-snake larva repellent; Agrokhem Limited, a distributor of organic fertilisers and agro-chemical inputs; Access Bank, CAL Bank, and Golden Pod chocolate drink, among others, took part in the cocoa product exhibition.

    Source: GNA

  • Time to shift away from cocoa export to local consumption – Prof. Owusu

    Professor Ebenezer Oduro Owusu, a former vice chancellor of the University of Ghana, has called for a move away from the export of cocoa and toward local use of the beans.

    According to him, both recent and previous administrations have pushed to promote cocoa sales at the expense of domestic consumption.

    We must consume the goods we generate, according to Professor Owusu. We must make sure that we consume chocolate locally. The health benefits of cocoa are numerous.

    He was delivering a lecture on the topic: “COCOBOD @75: Sustaining Our Environment, Wealth and Health.”

    The occasion was also used to launch the 2022 Cocoa Day, which is slated for October 1.

    He suggested that cocoa be used more regularly in the preparation of local dishes and called for efforts to develop local cocoa diets that would ensure local consumption of the crop.

    Regarding the consumption of chocolate products, he admitted that pricing concerns had largely deterred the citizenry from regularly consuming made-in-Ghana chocolate products, thus accounting for the almost rapt focus on export of cocoa beans to the processing factories in the West.

    He also called for the New Products Unit of the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) to be better resourced to bring new approaches to the production and value addition of cocoa in the country.

    He emphasised research as key to the development of the cocoa sub-sector and pointed to the development of early and high yielding, and pest resistant varieties of the cash crop, which came about due to years of research.

    Professor Oduro Owusu called for more efforts to be made to “curb the unwarranted destruction of lands and the environment” especially in cocoa growing areas, where the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) recently reported that about 19,000 hectares of cocoa farms had been destroyed due to the activities of illegal gold miners.

    “I find it very hard to understand why as a nation, we cannot be united to fight ‘evils’ that threaten the future of our dear country.”

    He warned that if nothing concrete was done about the danger of illegal mining, the country might soon depend on the imports of food and potable water.

    He said, “polluted water bodies, destroyed aquatic lives as well as shrink pathways of water bodies are matters that may cost us so much as a nation.”

    Besides this danger to our water and land, he also cautioned that due to the presence of heavy metals like mercury in the soil from the illegal mining activities, it was becoming difficult for Ghana’s cocoa to pass the heavy metals test when shipped to other jurisdictions.

    He thus urged scientists at CRIG to research into how long it would take for the destroyed lands to be restored to their original states.

    Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Yaw Frimpong Addo, who represented Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto at the event, noted that the theme of the lecture, ‘COCOBOD @75: Sustaining our environment, wealth and health,’ epitomises the government’s policy direction for the cocoa sector “by securing sustainable farming practices alongside boosting domestic cocoa production.”

    He said interventions in the sector, such as hand pollination, rehabilitation of cocoa farms, pruning and the supply of farming inputs had positively influenced production patterns.

    He stated that work on the COCOBOD Cocoa Management System, a database of all farmers in the country, was near completion with the data about 664, 529 farmers so far captured unto it.

    This, he said, would make it easy for the implementation of the Cocoa Farmers’ Pension Scheme.

    He commended the various players in the cocoa sector as well as all those who were at the helm of affairs at COCOBOD since its establishment 75 years ago.

    Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD, Joseph Boahen Aidoo, on his part stated that “making the cocoa industry more vibrant requires that cocoa farmers are better remunerated.”

    This, he explained, was the motivation behind the 29% increase in the producer price of cocoa from GH¢8,240 to GH¢10,560.

    He indicated that the Board and Management of COCOBOD have resolved to reduce the debt burden drastically, by adopting austerity measures, due to the ongoing ravages of COVID-19, which had led to decreased demand for cocoa around the world.

    According to the CEO, the Living Income Diffferential remained the best pricing mechanism to regulate cocoa prices and cushion the farmers against cocoa price volatility.

    Meanwhile, the Ghana Cocoa Day Celebrations will be held at the Presbyterian Boys’ Senior High School (SHS) at Suhum in the Eastern Region.

    The programme of activities include a simultaneous walk by staff of COCOBOD on Saturday, September 24, in Accra, Tema, Kumasi and Takoradi.

    On Wednesday, September 28, there will be a float at Suhum and an exhibition by cocoa and chocolate producers, as well as agrochemical and input suppliers, financial institutions and NGOs on the Suhum SHS school park.

    A forum on sustainable cocoa production as well as a cocoa quiz competition will be held on Thursday, September 29.

    There will be a football competition among some four selected schools from the Eastern Region on Friday, September 30 at the Suhum School Park. This will be followed by a ‘Cocoa Night Concert.’

    As the climax to the 75th Anniversary celebrations, there will be a grand durbar at Suhum Presbyterian SHS Park on Saturday, October 1.

  • It is almost impossible for COCOBOD to default in repaying loans – Redd Intelligence

    Redd Intelligence, a global research company, is upbeat about the Ghana Cocoa Board’s (COCOBOD) ability to repay its loans.

    Redd Intelligence contends that COCOBOD cannot default, according to a myjoyonline report.

    The Cocoa Syndicated Loan or COCOBOD’s annual one-year pre-export finance (PXF) program still has the credibility to draw in foreign banks.

    It is very impossible to default on Cocobod’s flagship financing, according to Tedd George, founder of Kleos Advisory.

    Myjoyonline.com quotes him as saying, “It’s a low-risk African agricultural asset that you want on your books.

    books,” he is quoted by myjoyonline.com.

    COCOBOD has never defaulted on its syndicated facilities since 1992.

    Tedd George stated that Ghana’s government is likely to prioritize the payment of the loan before it repays the IMF.

    “The government will do everything in its power to get the facility repaid. It might even repay [COCOBOD] before it repays the IMF, and the IMF might even support this,” he added.

     

  • COCOBOD vows to significantly lower debt levels – CEO

    Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Joseph Boahen Aidoo, claims that management has made a decision to lessen the enormous debt load.

    The significant portion of debt accumulation—roughly GH12.30 billion as of September 2020—comes from short-term cocoa loans, which make up GH8.49 billion or 69.02 percent of all debts.

    Mr. Aidoo stated at the University of Professional Studies’ Public Lecture & Media Launch for the 2022 National Cocoa Day celebration that the considerable impact COVID-19 had on the cocoa trade caused a large decline in cocoa demand, which ultimately had the effect of lowering profits.

    “Unfortunately, the ramifications of COVID-19 continue to cause more economic meltdown; thereby leading to plummeting demand for our cocoa. This has adversely affected the global cocoa trade, as projected revenue dropped abysmally and led to great financial shocks on Ghana’s cocoa regulator,” the CEO said.

    Mr. Aidoo assured that management has decided to significantly cut debt levels in light of the fact that precipitating causes were wholly beyond COCOBOD’s control.

    “In view of the fact that the precipitating factors were absolutely beyond our control, the Board and Management have resolved to reduce debt levels drastically.

    “Consequently, in the short- to medium-term, stringent internal reforms have been advanced to control expenditures and cut costs while efforts are underway to finance existing debts,” he said.

    One of the tactics being implemented by COCOBOD is to issue a bond with a maximum value of US$3billion to refinance the comparatively pricey cocoa bills.

    The pricey short-term cocoa payments are anticipated to be refinanced by using relatively affordable long-term debt.

    To prevent debt from building up, COCOBOD is instituting tighter financial controls by making savings to pay-off all of the debts shown on its books.

    Other debts accumulated include the 10-year BoG loan that has a balance of approximately GH¢1.39billion and is being serviced in accordance with the repayment schedule established with the Bank of Ghana.

    The moratorium on principal repayment terminated in January 2022, although COCOBOD anticipates paying off the debt in full by November 2023.

    Cocoa Farmers Welfare

    The Chief Executive noted that the Cote d’Ivoire-Ghana Cocoa Initiative’s much-lauded ‘Living Income Differential’ farmer-income development programme remains the most effective way to control cocoa prices and protect farmers from price volatility.

    Accordingly, in the 2020/21 crop year COCOBOD increased the producer price per tonne of cocoa by 29 percent to as high as GH¢10,560.

    “Making the cocoa industry more vibrant requires that our farmers are properly remunerated. It is in this regard that in the 2020/21 crop year government through COCOBOD increased the producer price per tonne of cocoa from GH¢8,240 to as high as GH¢10,560 – representing a 29 percent increase amid the ravages imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses globally,” the CEO said.

    “In addition, there is a build-up in our concept of boosting domestic value addition and consumption of cocoa in an effort to reduce gluts of our produce on the world market to secure good prices,” he added.

    Cocoa Day Celebration

    The Board’s 75th Anniversary celebration, which will be held on the theme COCOBOD @ 75: Sustaining Our Environment, Wealth and Health with a series of activities from September 28 to October 1 in 2022 at the Suhum Presbyterian Senior High School Park, Suhum in the Eastern Region, has been timed to coincide with this year’s Cocoa Day celebration.

    The annual Cocoa Day celebration is held to honour the contributions of our dedicated cocoa farmers, raise public knowledge of the nutritional and health benefits of cocoa, and inspire people to incorporate cocoa consumption into their daily life.

    In addition to other measures, the yearly celebration that was started in 2005 aims to gradually increase Ghana’s per capita cocoa consumption – even if we still have a long way to go before we catch up with consumers in Europe, America and other affluent nations.

  • Do not sneak subsidised fertilizers – COCOBOD to farmers

    The Ghana Cocoa Board’s (COCOBOD) Charles Amenyaglo, Director of Special Services, has warned cocoa farmers to stop smuggling and peddling subsidized fertilizers for cocoa.

    Any farmer or purchaser of such subsided cocoa fertilizers, he claimed, would be detained and charged.

    After four suspected cocoa fertilizer smugglers were brought before Takoradi Port Circuit Court B for allegedly smuggling 328 bags of subsidised cocoa fertilizers, Mr. Amenyaglo issued the warning in an interview with the media in Takoradi.

    He said Cocoa fertilizer smuggling was becoming a torn in the flesh of COCOBOD, stressing that more than 2,000 bags of cocoa fertilizers were retrieved from smugglers across the country last year alone.

    Mr Amenyaglo pointed out that if the practice was not nipped in the bud COCOBOD would not be able to achieve its aim of increased cocoa yield since nutrients on many cocoa farms were depleted.

    He said it was an offence punishable by law to be engaged in such a practice, noting that the fertilizers were highly subsidised.

    He said they procured the fertilizers at 560 cedis a bag and sold to the farmers at 80 cedis a bag, which they transport to the farming communities and hand over to the farmer cooperatives for distribution to their members.

    Mr Amenyaglo expressed worry that some unscrupulous people had been unlawfully purchasing cocoa fertilizers delivered to cocoa farmers at a highly subsidized rates, adding “some of them have made it their business to be going around buying cocoa fertilizers, which have been delivered to the farmers at their doorsteps.

    The four suspects, Amadu Combat, 55, Kingsley Baah Wiredu, 32, a driver, Issaka Mbawuni, 38, and Dawuda Yakubu, 44, were detained with trucks loaded with COCOBOD-subsidized fertilizers at Samenaboi in the Western Region at around 02:00 on Sunday, September 11.

    The four were accused of causing the State financial loss, but the charge against them did not match the facts, according to the court presided over by Her Honour, Mrs. Abigail K. Asare, who refused to accept their plea and released the suspects.

    She thus requested that the prosecution work with COCOBOD personnel to carry out in-depth investigations into the case and formulate the proper charges against the four accused.

  • Meet the painter behind Jubilee House, COCOBOD, other buildings

    A young man who specializes in interior and exterior painting has been establishing a profession for himself for the past 15 years.

    Through his inventive paintings and designs, Bright Hodzor, sometimes known as the “Celebrity Painter,” has somewhat disproved the notion that a profession in painting is a desirable one.

    Bright Hodzor is utilizing his talent to break down these prejudices while making the project a business-oriented one that also provides chances for others. He has painted the Jubliee House, the Ghana COCOBOD building, market squares, churches, and other locations all throughout the country.

    Taking his turn on GhanaWeb TV’s BizTech, the Celebrity Painter said his journey started when he left his hometown to Accra in search of greener pastures.

    “I had the talent of mixing colours for a long time when growing up as a child. I was able to visualize any color and know which shade to mix that color with. I can actually call this a natural talent which has been given to me by God”

    “The industry of painting in Ghana, has for many years, had its stereotypes but I have been able to help break that barrier with this talent I have been given. The exterior and interior painting industry in Ghana is one that has many prospects and opportunities”

  • COCOBOD to prosecute persons diverting cocoa fertilizers, agro-inputs

    Management of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has issued a stern warning to persons involved in the diversion of Cocoa fertilizers and agro-inputs to desist from the practice.

    According to COCOBOD, anyone caught engaged in this act will not be left off the hook.

    A statement issued in Accra by Management of the Board said cocoa fertilizers supplied to cocoa farmers through various farmer Cooperatives/Groups and Associations for application on farms were being diverted and sold by unscrupulous persons.

    It said the cocoa fertilizers had been heavily subsidized by the government to ensure accessibility and affordability to all farmers to increase farm yields and any attempt to resell them amounted to diversion which is an offence.

    “We also wish to caution cocoa farmers who are conniving with such miscreants in the diversion of the subsidized fertilizers to refrain from it immediately or face the consequences of their actions,” it added.

    It urged all security agencies to be vigilant and intercept suspected cocoa fertilizers, chemicals, and other inputs in the possession of persons without the required documentations covering the movement of such items for further investigations.

    The statement encouraged the public to report all suspected cases to the Ghana Police Service for the necessary action.

  • Cocoa road contractors give Gov’t 14-day ultimatum to settle outstanding payment

    Some cocoa road contractors in Ghana have given the government and COCOBOD 14 working days ultimatum to settle all outstanding Interim Payment Certificates (IPCs).

    The contractors threatened that the failure of the government to meet the deadline will attract their wrath.

    According to the aggrieved cocoa road contractors, projects that were awarded in 2015/2016 under the COCOBOD CEO Dr. Stephen Opuni totalling a little above 4.7 billion Ghana Cedis are yet to be settled.

    These contracts, the statement indicated, were being executed by various contractors nationwide and payments were being made steadily by Cocobod according to their payment regime.

    These projects, however, were stalled in 2017, when the new government under His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo took over.

    Two years later, contractors were asked to go back to the site which resulted in a huge financial burden. COCOBOD however put a fiat on payment of interest on delayed payment.

    Below is the statement:

    COCOA ROAD CONTRACTORS GIVE GOVERNMENT 14 DAYS ULTIMATUM OR FACE THEIR WRATH
    BACKGROUND

    Some cocoa road contractors in Ghana have given the government and Cocobod 14 working days ultimatum to settle all the outstanding Interim Payment Certificates (IPCs) and failure to do so will attract their wrath.

    According to the aggrieved cocoa road contractors in a statement released on August 8th, 2022, they made reference to cocoa road projects awarded in 2015/2016 under the CEO Dr. Stephen Opuni totaling a little above 4.7 billion Ghana Cedis.
    These contracts were being executed by various contractors nationwide and payment were being made steadily by Cocobod according to their payment regime.
    These projects however, were stalled in 2017, when the new government under His Excellency Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo Addo took over.

    Two years later, contractors were asked to go back to site which resulted in a huge financial burden of contractors mobilizing back to site. Unfortunately, Cocobod has put a fiat on payment of interest on delayed payment.

    The recent projects awarded by the current management of Cocobod, headed by Hon. Joseph Boahen Aidoo amounts to a little over 14 billion Ghana Cedis. In spite of payment challenges, contractors were on site working to ensure completion of these projects.

    It will interest you to note that for more than two years, Cocobod has ceased making prompt payment to contractors which has created a huge financial vacuum on the projects.

    This information is important to the general public, the Ministry of Roads and Highways and the Presidency because these contracts were signed in good faith and contractors were expectant of prompt payment but recent developments in the payment schedule of Cocobod leaves much to be desired.

    Payment of IPCs raised are expected to be paid within 90 days but here we are, some IPCs have been in the system for over two years.
    This situation has forced over 95% of Cocoa Road contractors out of site in recent time with no hope of returning to continue or complete these projects.
    It is worth mentioning that, considering the rise in inflation and materials, it is extremely difficult for contractors to manage the huge financial burden. Based on these frustrations and hardships, we wish to petition the Chief Executive Officer of Cocobod to effect payment of outstanding IPCs within 14 working days from today. If this ultimatum elapses without any concrete evidence of payment, Cocobod will face the wrath of cocoa road contractors.
    Signed by
    Emmanuel Cherry
    CEO Ghana Chamber of Construction Industry

     

    Source: Ghanaweb

  • COCOBOD announces closure of main cocoa crop season

    The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has announced the closure of the main cocoa crop season.

    “It is hereby notified for general information that purchases of the 2021/2022 Main Crop Cocoa Season will close on Thursday, 26th May, 2022”, a statement from COCOBOD said.

    The main crop season which starts from October to May is the period within which the regulator buys most of the cocoa beans from farmers for export.

    This ushers in the Light Crop season which commences from June to September. During this season, cocoa beans are mainly sold to local companies at a discounted rate.

    The statement said License Buying Companies will be allowed to obtain returns for the sale of cocoa beans from the interior parts of the country until 2nd June, 2022.

    Source: Joy Business   

  • Farmer testifies to efficiency of Lithovit fertiliser in Opuni trial

    Dr Stephen Kwabena Opuni, the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), assisted Samuel Torbi, a cocoa farmer, produce more cocoa with the lithovit liquid fertiliser, he told the Accra High Court on Monday.

    He claimed that the lithovit fertiliser supplied by COCOBOD, then managed by Dr Opuni, allowed him increase his production from 2,875 kilogrammes in the 2013/14 cocoa season to 8,125 kilogrammes in the 2015/16 cocoa season.

    “I state that the lithovit liquid fertiliser is the best fertiliser that I have ever used on my cocoa farm. It is the best fertiliser ever supplied by COCOBOD. It is a liquid fertiliser, and it is very effective.”

    Mr Torbi, who has 17 years of experience and owns over 33 acres of cocoa farms in the Central Region, testified as a defence witness for Dr Opuni, who is accused of causing a financial loss to the state of over GH271 million in a series of transactions with businessman Seidu Agongo, CEO of Agricult Ghana Limited, the fertiliser’s producers.

    The farmer told the court that he only used granular fertilisers before adopting lithovit liquid fertiliser. According to him, he

    He stated he used both fertilisers on his land since he was unsure of the effect of the new fertiliser. However, after some time, he discovered that lithovit liquid fertiliser was more effective.

     “I must state that the risk was worth it. I harvested and sold 8,125 kilogrammes of cocoa beans for the said 2015/2016 cocoa season. I, therefore, became convinced about the efficacy of liquid fertilisers.”

    He then informed the court that his productivity dropped when COCOBOD stopped delivering lithovit liquid fertiliser to him and other farmers during the 2017/2018 cocoa season.

    When Mr Tobi attempted to surrender his cocoa passbook, which includes his cocoa sales and other information from 2012 to the present, the prosecution made an objection in court.

    The prosecution, Mrs Evelyn Keelson, pointed out to the court that the witness’s name on the passbook was Rockson, not Samuel.

    “ROCKSON” that had been corrected to “SAMUEL” “Rockson can certainly not be a mistake in the spelling of the name Samuel, not by any stretch of imagination. It is our submission that the document the witness seeks to tender as his own is not his document.

    Justice Clemence Jackson Honyenuga, the presiding judge, overruled the objection and admitted the passbook into evidence after Samuel Codjoe, lead counsel for Dr Opuni, explained the circumstances that led to the correction.

    The court then ended proceedings for hearing to resume on May 19. The Prosecution will cross-examine Mr Tobi in the subsequent hearing.

    The Prosecution alleges that Dr Opuni and Seidu Agongo collaborated to sell Lithovit fertiliser, a substandard product.

    The Prosecution speculates that Mr Agongo used fraudulent means while Dr Opuni, who served as COCOBOD CEO from November 2013 to January 2017, refused to allow lithovit liquid fertiliser be tested and certified as required by law.

    The accused are on self-recognisance bail in the sum of GH¢300,000 each after not pleading innocent.

    Source: The Independent Ghana

  • ¢23.9m worth of chemicals, fertilizers expired at COCOBOD – Auditor-General

    The Auditor-General has discovered chemicals and fertilisers valued at GH¢23.9 million (GH¢23,957,525.07) expired at Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD).

    During the 396th meeting of the Board of Directors held on Tuesday, October 30 and November 2, 2018, the board approved that the debt should be written off.

    The Auditor-General raised issues about the approval to write the debt off because management could not provide evidence of Parliamentary approval for the write-off of the value or loss from the books of account.

    Section 53 of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016, (Act 921) states that the minister shall seek the approval of Parliament to write off a loss of or a deficiency in public funds or public resources.

    The Auditor-General explained that failure to seek parliamentary approval could lead to unlawful write-offs from the books of the board.

    These are contained in the report of the Auditor-General on the Public Accounts of Ghana: Public Boards, Corporations and Other Statutory Institutions for the period ended December 31, 2020.

    The report, dated May 31, 2021, was signed by Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu, acting Auditor-General.

    The Auditor-General, therefore, urged management to seek retrospective parliamentary approval for the write-off.

    The report said in the event of failure to secure parliamentary approval, the value shall be recovered from the Board of Directors in accordance with Section 18(b) of the Audit Service Act, 2000, Act 584.

    The Auditor-General also urged management to ensure that they seek parliamentary approval for all write-offs in the future.

    “Management of COCOBOD will bring to the attention of the Board of Directors and liaise with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture for onward submission to the Parliament of Ghana for retrospective approval,” the management promised.

    Source: thefinderonline.com

  • COCOBOD expects a record production of over 1 million tonnes for the 2020/21 season

    Ghana Cocoa Board expects production to reach 1.06 million tonnes for the 2020/21 season, the Chief Executive Mr Joseph Boahen Aidoo, said on Thursday.

    He said with six weeks to the end of the season, the Board had recorded 1.033 million tonnes, beating the previous record of 1.024 million metric tonnes in the 2010/ 2011 crop season.

    Mr Boahen Aidoo was speaking at an event to introduce new weighing scales to be used by Licensed Buying Companies for purchases when the new cocoa season begins on October 1, 2021.

    Mr Boahen Aidoo attributed the achievement to the efforts of the hardworking farmers and the several interventions introduced by COCOBOD to increase the yield.

    “This achievement has never happened in the history of our cocoa industry. Notwithstanding the negative impact of COVID-19 our hardworking farmers have broken the existing record,” he said, adding that all stakeholders in the cocoa production line must be applauded.

    Mr Boahen Aidoo said the provision of improved seeds and fertilizer as well as mass pruning exercise undertaken by the Board contributed to the increase in yield.

    “We at COCOBOD also did a lot of work with the various stakeholders such as the License Buying Companies, Extension Officers, the Quality Control Unit, researchers and the farmers to achieve this target.”

    Mr. Boahen Aidoo expressed optimism that production in the 2021/2022 crop season will exceed the current target due to the US$400 Living Income Differential (LID) which directly goes to farmers.

    “We are very sure that as the COVID-19 pandemic is controlled, the consumption of chocolate will go up and this will lead to an increase in demand for cocoa. When this happens, the Ghanaian cocoa farmer will be better off.”

    He assured that COCOBOD will continue to put the Ghanaian farmer first to benefit from the sale of the commodity.

    As part of measures to ensure that farmers are not cheated, Mr Boahen Aidoo announced that effective October 1, 2021, which marks the beginning of the new crop season, electronic weighing machines will be used by License Buying Companies across the country.

    He said COCOBOD had already secured 40,000 pieces of the new weighing scale machines to be purchased by the License Buying Companies.

    “This issue of weighing, and cheating cocoa farmers have created a lot of problems, mistrust and disagreement in the cocoa industry. So, we have these weighing scales that can rely on both solar and electricity so that it can work in remote places,” he said.

    Based on research with the Ghana Standard Authority, Mr Boahen Aiddo stated that the new electronic weighing scales cannot be tampered with to protect the farmers.

    He stressed that the new system will enhance fairness and protect the integrity of the processes.

    He warned all License Buying Companies to abide by the new directive to avert sanctions by the regulator.

    “This new electronic scale is sealed. The issues of tampering with scales will stop because with this new scale, once you tamper with it, it gets spoilt,” he said.

    Source: gna.org.gh

  • COCOBOD trial: Court rules on Opuni, others submission of no case today

    The Criminal Division of the Accra High Court is expected to rule on a submission of no case filed by lawyers of Dr Stephen Opuni & two others in the COCOBOD trial.

    The submission of no case was filed after the state had closed its case against the accused persons having called seven witnesses.

    The court presided over by Justice of the Supreme Court Justice Clemence Jackson Honyernugah sitting with additional responsibility as a High Court judge had then called on the accused persons to open their defence.

    However, the accused persons and their lawyers believed the state had not established any prima facie case against them for them to open their defence.

    They therefore filed for a submission of no case which the court is expected to rule on today.

    What this means is that, if the submission of no case is upheld, the accused persons would be discharged.

    But they would be required to open their defence if their application is refused.

    Dr Stephen Opuni, the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of COCOBOD, Seidu Agongo CEO of Agricult Ghana Limited and his company are standing trial on 27 charges including causing financial loss to the state.

    They have all pleaded not guilty and have been admitted to self-recognizance bail.

    Source: Kasapa FM

  • Im not aware of any letter inviting Agongo for payment – Witness

    Peter Osei Amoako, the Director of Finance at COCOBOD, on Thursday said he is not aware of any letter dated November 20, 2014, inviting Seidu Agongo to pay the sum of GHC6,492.50.

    The payment is the cost of reassessment and evaluation towards the renewal of certification from Cocoa Research Institute (CRIG) for Lithovit Liquid fertilizer for the year 2015.

    Mr Amoako, the sixth prosecution witness in the trial involving Dr Stephen Opuni and two others, said he only knew Dr K. Opoku-Ameyaw, who signed the letter by name but they had never met.

    The witness said he was not aware of any letter dated July 7, 2017 from CRIG inviting Agricult Ghana Limited to pay the sum of GHC3,000.00 as the reassessment and evaluation fee for the renewal of CRIG certification for the Lithovit Liquid fertilizer for the year 2018.

    He said by virtue of a notification of award, payment for that product was supposed to be effected 30 days after delivery; “This is the notification. If the services were provided, then COCOBOD will pay”.

    Mr Amoako said he could not recall specific dates and amounts of payment made for Lithovit liquid fertilizer by COCOBOD.

    Dr Opuni and Mr Seidu Agongo are facing 27 charges, including defrauding by false pretenses, wilfully causing financial loss to the state, money laundering, corruption by a public officer and contravention of the Public Procurement Act.

    They have both pleaded not guilty to the charges and are on a GH¢300,000.00 self-recognisance bail each.

    The trial was adjourned to December 9, 2020.

    Source: GNA

  • Opuni trial: COCOBOD responded to PPAs value for money audit Witness

    Mr Peter Osei Amoako, the Sixth prosecution witness in the trial involving Dr Stephen Opuni and two others, has said COCOBOD responded with a letter to Public Procurement Authority (PPA) confirming the value for money audit.

    He said, “l only saw the letter; l do not have records of the audit report itself.”

    Mr Amoako, in his evidence in chief led by Mrs Evelyn Keelson, Chief State Attorney, explaining how the 2013/2014 procurement was done, said a letter from the former CEO of COCOBOD, Dr Opuni was sent to Cabinet through the Ministry of Finance to procure Lithovit liquid fertiliser.

    He said after that letter, another letter was sent to the Minister of Finance by the CEO.

    “After that, the former CEO requested quotation from the company, Agricult Ghana Limited for the procurement of lithovit liquid fertiliser,” he added.

    He said after the quotation, a letter was sent to PPA requesting approval to sole source 700,000 litres of lithovit liquid fertiliser at a cost of $19.5 million.

    The witness said a response was received from PPA requesting COCOBOD to do value-for-money audit and the Board responded with a letter confirming the value for money audit.

    He said PPA responded with the approval for COCOBOD to procure lithovit liquid fertiliser.

    Mr Amoako, who is the Director of Finance at COCOBOD, said based on the records, there was a certificate from Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) dated January 22, 2014, valid up till December 31, 2014.

    He said after the PPA approval, notification of award was signed by the CEO of COCOBOD to Agricult Ghana Limited.

    He said the company then submitted a performance guarantee and based on the acceptance of the guarantee the contract was signed between COCOBOD by the CEO and Managing Director of the company.

    The witness said 700,000 litres of lithovit liquid fertiliser was supplied by the company of which an inspection was carried out with all necessary documents attached and approval granted.

    At this stage, the State tendered the two letters mentioned by the witness in open court, explaining that after diligent efforts to procure the original, they were unsuccessful but wished to tender the photocopy with the permission of the court.

    There was no objection from other parties.

    Mr Amoako said as the Director of Finance, he had an oversight responsibility of the financial activities of corporate Head office, subsidiaries, divisions and units and this involves maintaining the financial records of COCOBOD.

    He said he made payment on transactions, management of funds, made reconciliation of banks, managed stores, took insurance of landed and mobile properties, in charge of taxation, responsible for budget preparation, responsible for debt recovery, payroll and salaries, responsible for the procurement unit, and management of funds of the divisions and subsidiaries.

    On what constituted the Finance Department of COCOBOD, the witness said it was made up of financial reporting and assurance, cash office, reconciliation unit, reimbursement unit, stores, insurance, taxation, produce finance, debt recovery, stock control, payroll, bills, and the procurement unit.

    When asked, who was the official custodian of COCOBOD’s financial records, Mr Amoako said the financial records of COCOBOD were under the Director of Finance at the Finance Unit.

    The witness said until November 2018, all the procurement records were under the Finance Department but the procurement unit was elevated to a Department with a Director in Charge.

    He said currently, the procurement Director was on leave and “I have been assigned additional responsibility over the procurement unit, so all the procurement documents are now under the Finance Director’s supervision.”

    Asked to explain how the procurement process was generally done at COCOBOD, he said at the Board, the procurement processes started with the preparation of budgets.

    He said the budgets were prepared by various units and consolidated as one budget for the whole institution after which it was forwarded to the Board for approval.

    He said the consolidated budget was then referred to the Finance Committee of the Board for discussion, where the Committee would prepare their report based on the budget and submit to the Board for approval.

    He said once the budget was approved, the procurement plan was extracted from the budget; the plan was also referred to the Board for consideration and approval.

    “The Board will then refer the procurement plan to the procurement committee of the Board for discussion,” he said.

    The witness said the procurement Committee would prepare their report and re-submit to the Board for approval and once the plan was approved, the plan was posted on the website of the PPA.

    He said in the procurement plan, there would be various items and methods of procurement and depending on the time, COCOBOD would now initiate the processes for the procurement of the items in the plan.

    Mr Amoako said depending on the method, it could be single sourcing, restrictive tendering, national or international competitive tendering.

    “Whatever the method is, we will invite suppliers who tender for any goods or services then approval will be sought from the PPA,” he added.

    He informed that once PPA had granted the approval, COCOBOD would issue a notification of award to the supplier and the supplier based on the notification, they would submit a performance guarantee.

    The Director of Finance submitted that once the performance guarantee was accepted by the legal Department, a contract was prepared between COCOBOD and the supplier and the supplier would now deliver on the contract.

    He said after delivering, COCOBOD would inspect the goods or services based on the contract signed and once everything was authenticated by the inspection team of COCOBOD, payment processes were initiated by the supplier submitting an invoice requesting for payment.

    He said all the necessary documents would be attached and forwarded to audit for vetting and any payment beyond GHS10, 000 went to the CEO for approval before payment was made.

    He said in the case of fertiliser, although fertiliser went through the same budgetary processes, before it was procured, it had to be tested for a minimum of two years at the CRIG.

    He said once it had gone through the testing regime, a report was issued by CRIG and forwarded to the CEO for approval, and once the report was approved, CRIG issued a certificate to the supplier valid for a year.

    “Once this processes have been completed, COCOBOD will now consider that particular fertiliser as part of the list of fertilisers to be procured,” he added.

    He said based on this arrangement, suppliers would be requested to submit quotations, where the CEO would now send a letter to PPA to sole source those fertilisers.

    The witness said once approval was granted, notification of approval was issued to the suppliers. The suppliers would then submit performance guarantees, where it would be vetted and Okayed by the legal Department.

    He said “now that the contracts have been established between COCOBOD and the supplier with the signing of the parties, the supplier will have to perform his/ her part by delivering the goods to COCOBOD.”

    He said with the delivery, an inspection team would inspect the fertilisers based on the contract signed and a report generated by the team. The supplier will initiate payment by submitting an invoice to COCOBOD.

    “All necessary documentation will be forwarded to audit for vetting with recommendation from the audit unit for approval and payment,” he said.

    He said it was at this stage that the “CEO gives approval for the bill” to be processed.

    Dr Opuni and Mr Agongo are facing 27 charges, including defrauding by false pretence, willfully causing financial loss to the state, money laundering, corruption by public officer and contravention of the Public Procurement Act.

    They have both pleaded not guilty to the charges and are on a GH¢300,000.00 self-recognisance bail each.

    The case has been adjourned to November 9, 2020, for continuation.

    Source: GNA

  • Audit report on cocoa roads not meant for the public COCOBOD

    The Public Affairs Manager of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) says the audit report on cocoa roads was originally not meant for the public, and that the decision to publish will depend on the government.

    According to Fiifi Boafo, the essence of the report was to understand the issues surrounding the management of cocoa roads.

    His response comes after John Dramani Mahama, the NDC flagbearer, demanded the publication of the aforementioned audit report.

    Mahama indicated that it was unjustifiable the move by the Akufo-Addo administration to abandon the cocoa roads projects upon assumption of office in January 2017.

    But speaking to Citi News, Boafo responded: “Yes there is a report, and unlike the expectation of some people that the report will be published, the essence of the report was to understand issues surrounding the management of cocoa roads. The report was to serve as a guide to management. So, if the former President wants the report published for political discourse, I am afraid, our approach is different.”

    He continued: “We have not been instructed to put the report out there yet. It was submitted in 2019. When a decision is made by the board and management, of course, in consultation with the government that we publish the report, we will not hesitate.”

    Fifi Boafo further stated that the investigation into the award of cocoa roads under the erstwhile Mahama administration was not based solely on corruption allegations as speculated, but it helped the board make some corrections to the scope of the road projects.

    He noted, “It is not a question of why no one has been found corrupt after the investigation? The report was to among other things confirm [……] the suspicions [of] corruption at the time.”

    Fiifi Boafo then disclosed: “A number of actions have arisen from the report. We had to redesign some of the projects. There were some roads that were designed without bridges though they were required. The report helped us to re-scope some of these designs. There were other projects that had no faults. There were issues as to whether or not the contractors had the capacity to execute the contracts given to them.”

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • COCOBOD announces closure of 2020 light crop cocoa season

    The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has announced that the 2020 Cocoa light crop season would end at the close of business on Thursday, September 17.

    The statement, signed by Joseph Boahen Aidoo, the Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD, said to assist the Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs) to obtain the final returns from upcountry stations, the Board has decided that returns on the declared purchases would be accepted up to 1600 hours on Thursday, September 24, 2020.

    Source: GNA

  • Expired fertilisers not ours COCOBOD

    The Management of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has denied claims that its fertilisers meant for cocoa farmers have been left to expire.

    This comes on the back of a video circulating on social media, alleging that some fertilisers supposed to be given to cocoa farmers free of charge by COCOBOD has been left to expire.

    “We wish to inform the general public that the alleged expired fertilisers in question, as seen in the video circulating on social media, do not belong to COCOBOD and as such the cocoa authority does not bear responsibility for them,” COCOBOD said in a statement.

    According to the Board, its checks found that the fertilisers belong to the Cocoa Abrabopa Association, a private entity and stakeholder within the cocoa industry, which supplies fertilisers and other agrochemicals to cocoa-farmers across the cocoa-growing regions in Ghana.

    The statement explained that: “Cocoa Abrabopa Association engaged the services of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at Assin Fosu for the disposal of 9,600 bags of expired Nitrabor fertilisers from their district warehouse, adjacent Hon. Kennedy Agyapong’s Kencity House at Assin Dompem. The expired fertilisers were acquired in 2014.

    “The EPA carried out the haulage, fumigation and disposal of the expired fertilisers between 23rd and 24th August 2020. However, during this process, some of the fertilisers were diverted away from their intended disposal sites, supposedly at the plea of farmers who wanted to apply them on their farms regardless of the present state of the fertilisers.

    “Some of the expired fertilisers turned up at Assin Dompem, where the video circulating on social media was taken.

    “While we appreciate that some farmers (like the ones seen in the video) and members of the general public may be genuinely misled into attributing the fertilisers to COCOBOD, we have also noticed that others may be purposely trafficking in these falsehoods.”

    COCOBOD further assured the public that, as the regulator for the cocoa industry, it takes the matter seriously and have tasked its officers in the district, to engage with cocoa farmers to prevent the application of any of the fertilisers on farms.

    COCOBOD added that it is engaging with the Cocoa Abrabopa Association and the EPA for prompt action in ensuring proper disposal of the fertilisers.

    Source: Class FM

  • COCOBOD reopens after coronavirus shut down and fumigation

    The staff of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) have returned to work after a three-day closure of the Cocoa House and the Head Offices of its subsidiaries and divisions in Accra for a fumigation exercise.

    COCOBOD reopens after the fumigation necessitated by the detection of positive cases of COVID-19 among some staff. This followed the conduct of a mass testing for the novel Coronavirus pandemic in collaboration with the Cocoa Clinic.

    Both exercises (the mass testing and fumigation) also formed part of a series of measures which the cocoa authority had been undertaking in an effort to protect its staff and stakeholders against COVID-19.

    As early as March 2020, it announced that in an effort to decongest its offices, Heads of Divisions/Subsidiaries, Units and Departments and core staff were to report to work while the rest of the staff report in accordance with a shift roster and work from home the rest of the time.

    The cocoa authority also promptly mounted touchless automatic sanitizer dispensers at vantage points in all Its offices for use by staff and visitors and insisted on the strict observation of all precautionary measures against COVID-19.

    The management has assured stakeholders within the cocoa value chain, from farmers to buyers and processors, that business is ongoing, not just to provide essential services but to fulfil all responsibilities to all parties in both the supply and demand sides of the cocoa sector.

    In a recent circular to staff, the Chief Executive Mr Joseph Boahen Aidoo asked staff to observe the necessary protocols at all times, particularly, at work as the nation strives to overcome the virus.

    Source: thecocoapost.com

  • Coronavirus: COCOBOD closes Head Office for fumigation

    The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) on Tuesday said its head office in Accra will be closed from Wednesday, July 8, to Friday, July 10, for fumigation exercise after some staff tested positive for COVID-19.

    The Head Office would be opened on Monday, July 13, 2020, a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency and signed by Mr Joseph Boahen Aidoo, the Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD, stated.

    “This has become necessary due to the mass testing being undertaken currently due to some staff members testing positive for COVID-19,” it said.

    “All necessary arrangements have been made for the affected staff to receive the necessary medical attention and contact tracing is currently ongoing to enforce quarantine and isolation measures, wherever applicable, of members/families who have been in contact with such staff.”

    The statement, however, said work would continue without any disruption as staff had been equipped with the necessary working tools to work remotely from their homes during the close down.

    Source: GNA

  • COCOBOD, Government team up to fix Eastern corridor road

    The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) is teaming up with the Government to fix sections of the Eastern Corridor road, Mr Joseph Boahen Aidoo, Chief Executive of COCOBOD said on Tuesday.

    He said all technicalities had been resolved and contractors on-site to fix the Have to Hohoe and Hohoe to Jasikan stretches of the Corridor.

    Mr Aidoo said this when he interacted with journalists in Ho as part of his three-day working visit to farms, farmers, and project sites of COCOBOD in the Volta and Oti regions.

    He said the road projects, being done under co-financing, would be completed between two to three years to give relief to cocoa farmers.

    “These roads are dear to the government and our farmers. Without good roads, the government’s interventions and supports can’t reach farmers and we also can’t transport cocoa beans from the farms to Tema Habour. So we need the roads badly and they will soon be fixed,” Mr Aidoo said.

    He commended the Volta Regional Security Council (REGSEC) for efforts at reducing the smuggling of Ghana’s cocoa to the neighbouring republic of Togo.

    Mr Aidoo said the Council intercepted over 600 bags of cocoa being smuggled to Togo between 2019 and this year and urged it to “continue the noble duty.”

    He said the Board of Directors of COCOBOD had approved a compensation package of two-thirds of the value of proceeds gotten from seized cocoa beans to security agencies and officers involved in interceptions to motivate them.

    “Every tonne of cocoa that leaves our country illegally costs us four hundred dollars so we have to do this to protect our cocoa and our economy,” Mr Aidoo stated.

    He said a total of 3.6 million hybrid cocoa seedlings had been raised for 3,000 hectares of cocoa land areas to be rehabilitated in the region.

    Mr Aidoo said in the short term, COCOBOD had introduced hand pollination and scaled up mass pruning to enhance flowering and asked farmers to take advantage of the interventions.

    He said COCOBOD, through Government was also spending between 200 and 300 million dollars to tackle diseases and overaged cocoa farms and called for support of all.

    Dr. Archibald Yao Letsa, Volta Regional Minister said the Region remained a key player in the cocoa sector and stated the readiness of REGSEC to stop the smuggling of cocoa across the borders.

    Mr Wisdom Delali Amexame, Regional Manager responsible for intelligence and security, COCOBOD, told the GNA that Volta and Oti regions produced averagely 8000 tonnes of cocoa annually in three cocoa growing districts.

    Source: GNA

  • COCOBOD lauds Cocoa farmers for massive pruning

    Samuel Ankamah, Manager at the Western South Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED) of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), has congratulated Cocoa farmers in the Western South and Central Regions for the massive pruning of their Cocoa farms.

    According to him, pruning of Cocoa trees was one of the best cultural practices, which leads to bumper harvest of Cocoa.

    Mr.Ankamah made the commendation when he led officials of COCCOBOD in Accra to visit Cocoa farms to inspect pruning and educate farmers in the Western South and Central Regions.

    The national pruning exercise of Cocoa farms will officially end on May 1, 2020.

    Mr Ankamah encouraged Cocoa farmers to acknowledge the efforts of COCOBOD to streamline cultural practices in Cocoa farming.

    He observed that all the cooperative farmers in the said Regions, embarked upon weeding, spraying and pruning activities and urged them to always allow sanitation to be sustained on their farms.

    Mr Ankanah thanked the management of COCOBOD for supplying farmers with Cocoa spraying machines, standard pruners and slashers, which reduced the human labour involved in Cocoa production.

    The Western South Manager said COCOBOD had supplied farmers with fertilizers and chemicals after pruning as a boost to flower formation.

    He said the number of extension officers for last year was inadequate but the ratio had increased this year leading to pruning of larger portions of Cocoa farms.

    Dr Emmanuel Nii Tackie-Otoo, Executive Director, Cocoa Health and Extension Division at COCOBOD said the team was quite impressed at the turn of events on Cocoa farms compared to previous pruning activities.

    Deputy Chief Executive (DCE) in charge of Agronomy and Quality Control at COCOBOD, Dr Emmanuel Agyemang-Dwomoh said COCOBOD would continue to supply Cocoa farmers with standard pruning machines and other equipment as well as farm inputs to boost the morale of farmers towards increased productivity.

    He noted that mechanized pruning was helping the farmers to prune their farms within a short period and was happy that all the farms the team inspected had been pruned effectively and asked the farmers to keep up the spirit.

    Source: GNA

  • Cocobod gives out motorized slashers to cocoa farmers

    The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) through the Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED) have given 1,732 motorized slashers to 134 cocoa farmer corporative within the Sefwi- Waiwso and Akontombra Districts of the Western North Region.

    Mr John Ahi, District Technical Officer who did the presentation, explained that the multipurpose machine could be used for weeding and pruning as well as for the removal of mistletoes.

    According to him each famer group would receive between twelve and thirty-four machines depending on the membership of each farmer group.

    Mr John Ahi advised Cocoa farmers within the area to either join or form farmer corporative in order to benefit from all COCOBOD Programmes and policies.

    He also called on beneficiary farmers to manage and maintain the machines in order to last long.

    The beneficiary farmer groups include, Nyametease Cocoa Farmers Association, Royal Youth in Cocoa, Golden Pod Cocoa Farmers Corporative Association, Gyampokrom Cocoa Farmer’s Group and Asntekrom Cocoa Farmer’s Association.

    Some of the farmers in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) commended the government and COCOBOD for the initiative and called on other farmers to also form corporative, since that would be easier for them to benefit from COCOBOD initiated Programmes.

    Source: GNA

  • COCOBOD outdoors motorized pruners and slashers for farmers

    COCOBOD in its quest to reduce drudgery and introduce modern practices in cocoa farming, has out-doored motorized pruners and slashers for weeding and pruning in cocoa farms across the country.

    Mr Joseph Boahen Aidoo, Chief Executive of COCOBOD, who launched the implements at Nkawie in the Atwima-Nwabiagya South Municipality, said government was determined to substantially reduce drudgery and discomfort associated with cocoa farming in the country.

    He said the country was now trying to move from the traditional way of farming to a modern practice, which combined the use of technology and innovation to increase crop yield and improve incomes of farmers.

    Mr Aidoo pointed out that, “for the cocoa sector to move forward and increase yields, there should be modern technologies to assist farmers in their farms”.

    He said currently, over 100,000 motorized slashers and pruners have been procured to be distributed to cocoa farmers who had already formed cooperatives to be used on their farms, adding that, the era of machetes in cocoa farms were over.

    The implement, he said, had come to complement the mass pruning exercise, which had been introduced as a productivity enhancement programme for farmers.

    The Sharp Power 4T machine, has multipurpose functions for weeding and pruning. It is more efficient for weed control and requires less energy input from the farmer as compared to the use of machetes.

    The slashers were easy to use and could clear a hectare of land within two hours.

    Mr. Aidoo explained that the use of slashers to control weeds had an added benefit of helping to prevent the use of weedicides, which left residual levels of chemicals in the cocoa beans.

    Mr. Aidoo said COCOBOD was working hard to support farmers to increase their yields, adding that, the goal was to get an acre of a healthy cocoa farm to produce at least ten bags of cocoa.

    Dr Nurah Gyiele, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, said the cocoa landscape was witnessing a transformation, which was vital to economic development of the country.

    He said the various productivity enhancement programmes such as the hand pollination, irrigation, rehabilitation of diseased and aged cocoa farms, mass spraying among others, were helping to increase yields and improve the incomes of cocoa farmers in the country.

    Source: GNA

  • Retrenched COCOBOD staff boycott compensation meeting

    Workers of COCOBOD who were retrenched in 1993 and 1994 without compensation after government restructured the company today boycotted a validation exercise by COCOBOD in Koforidua.

    The aggrieved retrenched workers alleged that COCOBOD has deviated from the agreed requirements and modalities for the validation exercise which could lead to disqualification of many of its members some of whom are deceased but represented by their children and spouses.

    The exercise was marred by anger and raining of curses on the officials for allegedly attempting to shortchange them.

    The former Workers of COCOBOD numbering about 7000 have been battling COCOBOD for the past 26 years for retrenching them without paying their redundancy and severance packages.

    The Supreme Court ruled on behalf of the affected farmers in 2005. COCOBOD later appealed for review but the case was withdrawn for out of court settlement.

    The CEO of COCOBOD, Joseph Boahene Adu, reportedly instituted a committee to reach an amicable settlement with the members of the Association of Retrenched Staff of Ghana COCOBOD.

    After reaching an agreement with the Association for payment of the packages, it was also agreed for a validation exercise to be conducted. The Validation team on Monday, March 2, 2020, started work at COCOBOD office in Koforidua but events turned chaotic after many members of the Association failed to provide the tall list of documents demanded by the validation team.

    The frustrated former staff of COCOBOD mostly aged began to agitate forcing their leadership to call for a total boycott of the exercise.

     

    Source: starrfm.com.gh

  • COCOBOD introduces slashers to improve cocoa quality

    The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has taken delivery of 100,000 pieces of motorised slashers to be distributed to cocoa farmers throughout the country.

    The slashers are to prevent the farmers from resorting to the use of weedicides on their farms and, thus, reduce the risk of having the beans contaminated and rejected on the world market.

    Read: COCOBOD already selling cocoa at new increased prices for 2020/21 crop season

    The COCOBOD banned the use of weedicides on cocoa farms and the slashers are expected to reduce the drudgery and discomfort farmers go through in managing their farms.

    Dual role

    At a two-day training workshop on the use of the slashers at Bunso in the Eastern Region, the Deputy Chief Executive in-charge of Agronomy and Quality Control of COCOBOD, Dr Emmanuel Agyemang Dwomoh, said aside from being used for weeding, farmers could also use the slashers to prune their farms.

    He described pruning as a crucial agronomic and productivity enhancement activity that must be given all the needed attention to boost yields.

    Dr Dwomoh said the machines could be used for clearing weeds, as well as cutting unwanted branches on cocoa trees without difficulty, adding that “the slashers are easy to use and can clear a hectare of land within two hours”.

    The workshop was to equip the field staff of COCOBOD with the needed knowhow on the appropriate use of the slashers and pruners ahead of the start of the mass pruning exercise scheduled for February this year.

    It was attended by more than 200 participants made up of regional managers and regional and district extension coordinators from all the cocoa-growing regions.

    Dr Dwomoh entreated the participants to pay attention to every bit of information given by the facilitators to enable them to effectively train various volunteers in cocoa communities on how to properly use the machines.

    Read: Cocoa demand exceeds supply 2 months into new season

    Pruning

    Last year, Dr Dwomoh said, they were able to prune only about 14 per cent of the areas marked for pruning.

    Dr Dwomoh said the target this year was to ensure 100 per cent pruning of all farms with the aid of the motorised slashers.

    The Head of Business at Crop Doctor, Mr Sudhir Kumar, who took the participants through the machine assembling processes and safety measures, was grateful to COCOBOD for the partnership and pledged his outfit’s support towards the implementation of the initiative.

     

    Source: Graphic.com.gh

  • COCOBOD trial: SC dismisses Opunis application for Special leave

    A five member-panel of the Supreme Court presided over by Justice Anin Yeboah has dismissed an application by Dr Stephen Opuni seeking a special leave of the apex court to appeal against a Court of Appeal decision.

    Aaron Mensah, lawyer of Dr Opuni argued that there was an error on the face of the decision made by the Court of Appeal in dismissing their application challenging a High Court ruling.

    That application at the Court of Appeal sought to overturn a High Court decision not to allow them tender a document through a third prosecution witness where Mr Opuni, former CEO of COCOBOD and one Seidu Agongo are facing trial for causing financial loss to the state.

    COCOBOD boss tours Western South Region

    The Attorney General’s Department represented by Madam Stella Ohene, a senior state attorney while opposing the application said the applicant has not been able to point out the said error that he claimed.

    She subsequently prayed that the application for Special leave pending appeal is dismissed.

    The panel which also includes Justice Sule Gbadegbe, Justice Gabriel Pwamang, Justice Samuel Marful Sau and Justice Agnes Dodzie while dismissing the application said the applicant did not provide a convincing ground to warrant the grant of the application.

    70% of Cocoa farmers believe COCOBOD does not serve their interest IMANI Report

    The apex court also ruled that the application is without merit and subsequently dismissed it.

    Source: starrfm.com.gh

  • Stop paying spot premiums to cocoa farmers COCOBOD warns agents

    The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) is warning of sanctions against cocoa Licenced Buying Companies (LBCs) in the country engaged in what it described as unethical practices.

    According to the regulator, some LBCs are paying spot premiums and giving other forms of inducement to cocoa farmers, practices it said, go against the Regulations and Guidelines for internal marketing of cocoa.

    “Payment of any form of inducements to cocoa farmers at the point of sale is unethical and must stop forthwith,” a statement issued and signed by Deputy Chief Executive of Cocobod, Dr Emmanuel Opoku, said.

    Read:No decision taken on cocoa producer price — COCOBOD

    Also, it said LBCs are barred from any form of advertisement soliciting for cocoa from producers for premium payments on the spot or at a later date

    It explained that premiums payments ar made only after the closing of the season to only cocoa farmers who registered and participated in certification or sustainability projects before the start of the cocoa season.

    “No LBC shall purchase conventional cocoa and declare same as special unless with a written prior approval by COCOBOD and restricted to a specific location,” the statement also indicated.

    Read:GRA, COCOBOD sued over VAT

    It warned that “Management shall evoke the applicable sanctions on violations of the above directive”.

    Cocobod said it has begun consultations with all stakeholders “to reform the regulation for the production and marketing of certified/sustainable cocoa”.

    Final decision on the operation of certified and traceable cocoa projects, it said, will be communicated to all stakeholders in due course.

    All LBCs are reminded that COCOBOD Management shall evoke the applicable sanctions on violations of the above directive.

    Source: 3news.com

  • COCOBOD signs $1.3bn syndicated loan for 2019/2020 crop season

    COCOBOD has signed a 1.3 billion dollar syndicated loan to cater for the production of cocoa for the 2019/2020 crop season.

    The agreement was signed in Paris, France today Friday, September 13, 2019.

    Some of the banks that signed the agreement include Societe Generale, Nedbank, Ghana International Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China, Natixis, ABN Amro, and Rabobank.

    Read: COCOBOD to abolish farmers scholarship scheme

     

    More soon….

     

    Source: citibusinessnews.com