Ghana Cocoa Board tracks fertiliser diversions through digital system
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on MyJoyOnline
Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has launched a digital system to track agricultural inputs to prevent the diversion of free fertiliser intended for cocoa farmers. Its chief executive, Randy Abbey, warned that any agent or buyer caught in the act would be prosecuted, during the programme's launch in Sefwi Wiawso, Western North Region, according to MyJoyOnline.
The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), the public body responsible for Ghana's cocoa sector, now restricts access to free fertiliser to registered farmers whose farms have been mapped in its digital cocoa management system. Beneficiaries will have to present their farmer card, Ghana Card or biometric data, its chief executive Randy Abbey said during the relaunch of the free fertiliser distribution programme in Sefwi Wiawso, according to MyJoyOnline.
The system will automatically determine the quantity allocated to each farmer based on the size and condition of their farm, preventing distribution agents from changing allocations. Each bag will be linked to the identity of its recipient and tracked from the warehouse to district and community distribution points, enabling officials to identify irregularities during distribution, Randy Abbey explained.
The COCOBOD chief executive warned that agents, buyers or individuals who divert, store, resell or smuggle the inputs would be prosecuted in accordance with the law. The system is intended in particular to prevent subsidised or free fertiliser from being resold on markets or smuggled abroad, according to MyJoyOnline.
