Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, the Board Chairman of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), has called for stronger collaboration with Regional Security Councils to effectively combat the smuggling of cocoa beans and farm inputs.
He made the call during an interaction with the Western Regional Minister, at Sekondi, as part of his three-day working visit to the Region.
He said the smuggling of cocoa beans along the country’s borders remained a major concern to COCOBOD.
Mr Ampofo explained that the problem had extended beyond cocoa beans to include the illicit trade of farm inputs and other resources that COCOBOD had been providing to farmers for free.
He said COCOBOD had distributed free agricultural inputs worth 5.8 million dollars to farmers this year, however, this significant investment was at risk if farmers bypassed official channels to sell their produce to smugglers.
“We have realised that there has not been enough coordination and collaboration between COCOBOD and Regional Security Councils, so some of the regional ministers do not even know our regional offices to enable them put their monitoring mechanisms in place to help us,” Mr Ampofo said.
The Board Chairman, said the enhanced partnership would help security agencies to better understand smuggling operations, track distributed farming inputs, and establish effective monitoring mechanisms to halt smuggling activities across the regions.
Dr James Kofi Kutsoati, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in-Charge of Operations, COCOBOD, revealed that the organisation was reforming its cocoa inputs distribution system.
He said the strategy would involve transitioning cooperative groups into a task force model to enhance the control of cocoa diseases and pests.
Mr Joseph Nelson, the Western Regional Minister, asked the Board to take immediate steps to bridge the communication gap between COCOBOD and the regional coordinating councils, to ensure a coordinated and effective monitoring efforts.
By Emmanuel Gamson, GNA