OLAM Ghana Limited, one of the leading licensed buying companies in the country has assured cocoa farmers and others cultivating crops such as cashew and shea-nut that it would not relent in its social responsibility programme to better their lot.
It also promised the farmers that the company would continue to supply them farming inputs and offer them loans to enable them to expand their farms to generate more income.
The Managing Director of the company, Mr Amit Agrawal gave the assurance when he addressed a three-day seminar at the Bunso Cocoa College last Sunday.
The seminar attended by about 90 of the company’s managers drawn from all the six regions in which it operated, was to take stock of the previous year’s activities of the company, with the view of improving its performance, taking into consideration the welfare of farmers.
According to Mr Agrawal, Olam Ghana had recognised the role farmers, especially those cultivating cocoa were playing in the economy and had therefore, decided to give them the necessary assistance to encourage them increase production.
He said it was for that reason that the company had since 1994 when it started operating in the country, continued to give loans and bonuses to farmers to expand their farms as well as honouring its social responsibility in terms of healthcare and education in its areas of operation.
Mr Agrawal stated that Olam Ghana purchased 110,000 metric tonnes of cocoa in 2007, expressing the hope that its packages would go a long way to increasing the production of cocoa, for the country to meet its target of a million metric tonnes within three years.
He, therefore, asked the company’s managers to live up to expectation by ensuring that the over 100,000 farmers dealing with the company were well catered for.
The acting Managing Director of the Quality Control Company, Mr Gokeh Sekyim, said in line with Ghana Cocoa Board’s (COCOBOD) programme for the country’s cocoa production to hit the projected one million metric tonnes in 2012, it had decided to come out with a number of packages.
He mentioned some of the packages as making available certified planting materials to farmers, controlling diseases and pests and enhancing extension services to ensure proper farm maintenance practices.
Other initiatives being carried out by the board, he said, were the provision of a 100,000 metric tonnes state-of-the-art ware housing facility at Kejebir in addition to existing ones to improve storage capacity and the acquisition of a number of grade/sorter machines to be installed in each cocoa district to segregate cocoa beans into respective categories before being graded and evacuated.
Mr Sekyim stated that Ghana’s cocoa continued to be the best on the world market, adding that COCOBOD expected each player in the cocoa industry to abide strictly by all regulations to sustain that feat.
He commended Olam Ghana for the role it was playing to support cocoa farmers and the industry as a whole.
The Member of Parliament for Lower West Akyem, Madam Gifty Klenam who also spoke at the function, suggested that Olam Ghana should help add value to the raw cocoa beans by constructing a procession plant in the area, adding that such an initiative would also create jobs for the unemployed youth.
The chief of Akyem Tafo, Osabarima Adusei Peasah on whose land the Cocoa College is situated, announced that the transformation of the college to an agricultural university was in progress and that the Overlord of Akyem Abuakwa, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin would on October 10, this year inaugurate the university.
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