Milton Hershey students to plant trees on cocoa farms next year
Students from the Milton Hershey School in Pennsylvania, USA, will next year travel to selected cocoa growing communities in the country to plant 1,000 shade trees to help improve cocoa production.
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The students who would be in the communities for two weeks would also interact with farmers on the rudiments of cocoa planting.
“The presence of the students in the communities will help inspire young farmers to engage in the cocoa business,” the executive director of the Cocoa Health and Extension Division of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Dr Francis Baah, told the Daily Graphic.
According to him, “the issue of shade for cocoa is very important because research shows that cocoa thrives well and longer where there is shade. If you grow cocoa without shade, the yield may be up initially but ultimately you put it through enormous stress”.
Agreement
The tree planting initiative is one of many benefits to be realised from a recent cooperation agreement entered into between the COCOBOD and the Milton Hershey School.
Under the agreement, the country’s cocoa sector would benefit from the academic expertise of the school and its mother company, the Hershey Company, which produces chocolate.
It was signed by the Chief Executive of COCOBOD, Dr Stephen K. Opuni, and his counterpart at the Hershey Company, Mr John P. Bilbrey.
Dr Baah said the cooperation was aimed at creating a platform for the two sides to continue to share ideas on cocoa production processes, starting with the tree planting exercise.
Inspiration
Given that the students would be with young cocoa farmers during their stay, Dr Baah said, the initiative would serve as a push to the board’s youth in cocoa farming project, which the COCOBOD was currently promoting.
At Senchem, where the project is gaining momentum, about 14,000 registered youth are cultivating 17,000 hectares of cocoa farms, with support from the board.
“These are the farmers that represent the face of cocoa production that the COCOBOD wants to promote and send the message that you can engage in cocoa farming and still have a prosperous life,” he said.
Interventions
Already, the Hershey company has supported the country’s cocoa industry in diverse ways.
Key among the support are the Cocoa Link and Cocoa Action initiatives which are all aimed at improving cocoa production in the country.