encouraging sustainable, responsible cocoa growing

Entry: Bill Guyton

During recent trips to West Africa, I have often heard farmers identify "poor roads" as the biggest obstacle in growing and marketing cocoa. Roads are the lifeline to accessing farm inputs such as fertilizers and planting materials, as well as selling cocoa during the harvest periods.

Traditionally, developed country governments, the World Bank and other international organizations, have invested in road improvements projects. Although these projects tend to be expensive, they help bring new opportunities to remote communities, particuarly when linked with programs such as the Sustainable Tree Crops Program (STCP) and others, funded by USAID and the World Cocoa Foundation.

Below is an article from The Ghana Chronicle, highlighting some of the planned road improvements in the cocoa growing regions of the country.

Ghana: Roads Leading to Cocoa Communities to Be Tarred

Ghanaian Chronicle (Accra)

8 May 2008
Posted to the web 8 May 2008

Alfred Adams & Zam Samin

The Regional Minister, Mr. Anthony Evans Amoah, has said that a total of 89 kilometres of roads,leading to cocoa communities in the Sehwi-Juaboso District of the region, would be constructed, and tarred by the close of this year.

Addressing a durbar of the chiefs and people of Essam, in the Juaboso District, the Regional Minister mentioned the Juaboso, Dadieso, Nkwanta Junction and Bonsukrom roads, as cocoa roads, which are to be tarred under the 2nd phase of the cocoa construction roads project.

The rest are Kwame-Bikrom, Adabokrom, Kum-Kwanso and Yaw-Matwa, all cocoa growing communities.

The Minister however announced that six communities would also be connected to the national grid, though he failed to mention the names of the communities.

On his part, Nana Ntaa Adu, Chief of Bonza and the Kwamuhene of the Sehwi Wiawso Traditional Area, appealed to the government to build a Teacher Training College in the Sehwi District, to square with other Districts, which could boast of Teacher Training colleges.