ARMAJARO Ghana Limited, a leading licensed cocoa buying company with headquarters in Kumasi, has in partnership with the state-owned Garden City Radio, launched an education programme dubbed Akuafo Badwa to educate farmers on best practices to help boost the nation’s cocoa industry.
The programme to be aired in the Akan language on Ghana Broadcasting Corporation’s (GBC) Garden City Radio in Kumasi will be handled by experienced broadcasters with deep knowledge in agriculture.
Experts in agriculture especially in the cocoa industry will also appear on the programme periodically to share their knowledge with farmers and other listeners.
The Managing Director of Armajaro Ghana Limited, Mr Rahu Gopinath, said at the inaugural ceremony last Friday that the company was a leader in getting the best for Ghana’s cocoa.
As a result he noted that farmers who constituted the bedrock of the industry could not be neglected in any way.
“That is why the company has consistently come out with initiatives to position farmers in a better position to increase production,” he said.
Mr Gopinath announced that the company’s traceable cocoa project, which reward communities for increase sales, had spent about $3 million to undertake various development projects in some communities in the Ashanti, Central and Western Regions.
An additional $1.8 million would be spent in due course, part of which would go into public education.
Mr Gopinath noted that the mass media was one sure way of reaching farmers with the right information and promised that the newly launched radio programme would be pursued with all seriousness.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr Kofi Opoku-Manu, described the Armajaro-GBC partnership as laudable and urged farmers to patronise the programme to achieve its objective.
He said government’s commitment to developing the cocoa industry was on course and indicated that the recent increase in the producer price of cocoa was symptomatic of the commitment.
Mr Opoku-Manu said agriculture, being the backbone of the national economy, needed all the attention not only from government but also the private sector.
He urged presenters who would handle the radio programme to avoid the politicisation of issues.
“Garden City Radio is a national asset and you should try to serve the interest of all,” he said.
The Ashanti Regional Director of GBC, Mr Philip Baidoo, said it was important for the mass media to divert their attention from “too much politics” and take on social issues that could help better the lot of the people.
“We in GBC want to keep to the tradition by always getting what is best for the people,” he said.
Mr Baidoo stated that Ghana’s development had hinged much on cocoa and any programme targeted at improving production must be supported.
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