COCOBOD staff not in Dubai for Kennedy birthday

Management of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has denied media reports that its staff members were sponsored on a trip to Dubai to attend a birthday celebration of the Member of Parliament for the Assin Central Constituency, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong.

The said newspaper front page story had the photograph of Joseph Boahen Aidoo, the Chief Executive of COCOBOD and went viral last Friday with claims that he and his staff members had been sponsored by Kennedy Agyapong to Dubai for the latter’s birthday party.

Checks from COCOBOD on Friday morning showed Joseph Boahen Aidoo was in his office working and he had not travelled to Dubai.

Indeed since the start of COVID, the only trip the COCOBOD Chief Executive had taken outside Ghana was to Côte d’Ivoire on an official assignment.

In a response to the said story, the Management of COCOBOD issued a statement, portions of which said:

“We categorically deny that officials of the Board, including some staff of the Procurement Department, were sponsored to the said party.

“Again, the Chief Executive whose picture was used alongside Hon. Ken Agyapong on the front page of the newspaper has been in Ghana, and at work at the time the supposed party took place.

“We also wish to state clearly that, no party agent has been recruited to the Procurement Department as alleged by the Herald.

“We urge the general public, especially our cherished stakeholders, to disregard the inaccurate information put out by the Herald which are all aimed at undermining the progress made by the Board in recent years.”

COCOBOD has since called for a retraction of the said story and asked the media houses involved for an apology.

The Board said it is focused on its core mission to encourage and facilitate the production, processing and marketing of good quality cocoa, coffee and sheanut in all forms in the most efficient and cost effective manner

In recent times, the Cocoa Rehabilitation Programme, the Seed Production Division of COCOBOD has raised 92 million hybrid cocoa seedlings for the rehabilitation of diseased and overage farms, establishment of new farms as well as filling of vacancies in existing young cocoa farms for the 2020/2021 Crop Season.

Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Ahia Clottey, Executive Director of the Seed Production Division (SPD) of COCOBOD, who disclosed this intimated that his outfit had steadily increased hybrid cocoa seedlings production from 60 million to 78 million for the two previous cocoa crop years.

He said 70% of 92 million seedlings for the current crop season were ready for transplanting and Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED) was carting them to the farms under rehabilitation. Other farmers are also receiving their allocations for their new farms. “Our focus is to ensure a high survival rate of the transplanted seedlings for a successful programme” he said, adding that his outfit together with CHED are taking the necessary initiatives to monitor the progress being made on the farms.

According to Dr. Ahia Clottey, good farm maintenance is key to sustainable cocoa farming, increasing yield and improving cocoa tree stock life span. He said good farm maintenance, which basically requires adherence to Good Agronomic Practices (GAPs) ensures that the trees remain strong and continue to bear healthy pods even after decades of existence.

“When farmers brush, prune their farms and apply the recommended pesticides as well as manure and or fertilizers, they can be assured of a longer and productive life span of the cocoa trees”, he said, adding that such practices will make the farms more productive and increase per hectare cocoa production volumes.