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Mr Daniel Mpeng Bayoi, a portfolio Management Officer at the African Development Bank (AfDB), says the financial institution will continue to support Ghana’s development agenda, particularly, in the cocoa sector to grow the industry and improve the lives of cocoa farmers.

Such support, he added, is in line with the development bank’s drive to play a leading role in Africa's economic transformation.

Mr Bayoi said this when a delegation from AfDB and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) was led on a tour to assess the progress of the ongoing cocoa rehabilitation exercise at Sefwi Wiawso in the Western North Region.

The team also visited some nursery sites and other projects being jointly funded by the two development partners.

In 2020, AfDB, JICA and other co-financiers signed a facility with Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to support various projects within Ghana’s cocoa industry. The projects primarily targeted support for cocoa productivity through infrastructure support to cocoa value addition and consumption.

Mr Bayoi said the Loan Facility given to COCOBOD for projects within the cocoa sector has begun to pay off and expressed pleasure at the effort made by COCOBOD to improve the industry.

“Coming to the field has given us an opportunity to experience the tangible impact of the intervention funded with the facility”, he emphasized.

The Acting Executive Director of the Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED), Rev. Edwin Afari, who led the delegation to the farms in the Aboagyekrom and Boako Districts, said the Management of COCOBOD is keen on restoring all cocoa farms affected by the Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease (CSSVD) to increase the country's production and thanked the team for solidly rallying behind the Board in that regard.

Pointing to one of the treated farms, Rev Afari said, “This farm is 65.65 hectares and COCOBOD has managed it for the past two years, aside the cocoa you see on the farm, there are other economic trees and the farmer is benefiting greatly because of the financial investments given to us by your outfit”.

The team again was at a 100-hectare Plantain Sucker Nursery site owned by Kumad Afarinik in the Dadieso District to inspect the progress of work at the site. The site is one of the sources of suckers for the rehabilitation and replanting process.

Professor Ofosu-Budu, who received the delegation explained that the plantain suckers are planted to serve as temporary shade trees for newly transplanted cocoa seedlings on farms during the rehabilitation, adding that they also serve as alternative livelihoods for farmers as the cocoa grows.

”The plantains we nurse here are given to the farmers free of charge to plant. When they harvest, they sell them for extra income while COCOBOD continues to manage the farms for 2 years” as part of the programme”, he noted.

The delegation also had the opportunity to interact with some beneficiary cocoa farmers in the Boako District. The farmers expressed their gratitude to COCOBOD and the financiers for contributing positively to the sustenance of the sector.