COCOBOD relaunches free fertilizer programme with new monitoring platform to boost farmer incomes

Government has relaunched the Free Fertilizer and Agro-Input Programme for cocoa farmers under a major intervention to restore productivity, improve farmer incomes, and reset the cocoa sector.

The program is a policy shift from 50-percent subsidy to free fertilizer distribution to farmers, which the Ghana Cocoa Board says represents a total reset of how government intends to support farmers and increase cocoa production.

The relaunch of the program the distribution has seen the procurement of over 3.5 million bags of granular fertilizer for distribution to cocoa farmers nationwide.

Approximately 1.2 million bags have already been delivered to farmers as a new digital platform has been developed to strengthen accountability and ensure fair distribution.

Speaking at the event, Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD, Dr. Randy Abbey, described the intervention as a decisive declaration that government, through COCOBOD, is fully committed to relieving the financial burdens of farmers.

He explained the initiative also seeks to restore maximum productivity to the soil, and secure the golden future of the cocoa sector.

“We are removing financial barriers to high yields. Free fertilizer is not a handout, it is an investment in farmers, in the soil, and in the foreign exchange earnings of this republic,” Dr. Abbey said.

The relaunch held at Sefwi Wiawso under the theme: “Cocoa Sector Reset: Free Fertilizer for Increased Productivity and Improved Farmer Income” brought together government officials, traditional leaders, farmers, and other stakeholders in the cocoa value chain.

Farmers with mature and productive cocoa plantations in designated operational district areas are expected to receive fertilizer, whether granular or liquid, as well as insecticides and fungicides.

The COCOBOD will also supply free pneumatic and motorized sprayers to farmers.

Dr. Abbey noted that the board is fully aware of the challenges which plagued previous free distribution systems, highlighting that the good intentions of the state to revamp the sector were rather undermined by diversion, smuggling, favouritism, and unfair distribution.

“Inputs meant for genuine farmers ended up in open markets across the borders and on the farms of the well-connected, while smallholder farmers at the end of the line went home empty-handed,” he noted.

The COCOBOD is rolling out a new digital system to track every input taken from the warehouses to farms to ensure accountability and prevent abuse of the reintroduced initiative.

According to the COCOBOD boss, every beneficiary must register and have their farms marked and captured on the Digital Cocoa Management System (CMS).

The identity of every farmer will be verified at the point of collection through the national identification card or by biometric data.

“This time, we have built the entire distribution around a new digital distribution system that follows every bag or litre of input from the warehouse to the farm. No one can collect the fertilizer and the agro-inputs in another person’s name, and no ghost farmer names can appear on the list,” Dr. Abbey said.

He added that the system calculates each farmer’s entitlement automatically based on the marked size and condition of the farm, and therefore, officers at distribution points cannot add or deduct from the allocation.

Dr. Abbey cautioned smugglers and saboteurs, stressing that any officer, buyer, or individual found diverting or selling the distribution inputs will face the full rigours of the law.

The cocoa industry continues to face significant challenges, including declining productivity, ageing and unproductive farms, rising production costs, labour constraints, soil fertility challenges, persistent threats of capsid pests and swollen shoot virus disease, and the increasing effects of climate variability.

Highlighting the importance of cocoa to the country’s economy, Board Chairman of the COCOBOD, Dr. Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, noted that these challenges, require deliberate, coordinated and sustained interventions.

He noted that the distribution of the fertilizers is in line with the government’s commitment to addressing the challenges confronting the cocoa value chain.

“We cannot expect increased national cocoa production without investing adequately in the farms and supporting the farmers who cultivate them.

“Equally, we cannot achieve sustainable productivity if we do not address the underlying challenges of soil fertility, pest and disease management, access to improved planting material and effective extension services,” he said.

Additionally, the COCOBOD says 1.8 million litres of liquid fertilizer, 2.3 million litres of insecticide, and 1.5 million kilograms of fungicide have been purchased for cocoa farmers across the country.

Dr. Ofosu-Ampofo touted that the government has unprecedently supplied about 27,000 new spray machines in a single year, bringing the total number of spray machines available to about 67,000.

To complement the supply of sprayers and chemicals, he also noted that the approximately 5.7 million litres of pre-mixed fuel have been supplied to cocoa farmers to support the mechanical application of liquid fertilizer and insecticides.

The board and management of COCOBOD say they remain committed to ensuring a sustainable cocoa economy that provides optimal benefits to farmers, sustains profitable and integrated value chains, as well as promotes environmental resilience and social inclusion.