Cocoa farmers in the Wassa-Akropong area of the Western Region say they will co-operate fully with the Cocoa Swollen Shoots Virus Disease (CSSVD) Control Unit to eradicate the disease which is having a toll on their farms.
They said their yields had dwindled as a result of the disease so it was important for them to team up with the unit to prevent further destruction.
The assurance was given when officers from the unit (formerly known as Cocoa Services Division), paid a courtesy call on the Omanhene of the area, Kasapreko Kwame Bassanyin III, at his palace to introduce the newly posted officers to the area to him.
Mr Francis Antwi-Adjei, the acting Manager for the Western-South sector of the region, said cocoa trees, like any other fruit-bearing tree could be attacked by disease as they grew, adding that without proper maintenance and care the virus could spread and farms in that particular area could be destroyed.
He urged the farmers to impress on their caretakers to welcome the officers who would undertake the exercise and co-operate with them to eradicate the virus from the district,
He said once the virus had been discovered the only option was to destroy the trees to stop it from spreading to neighbouring farms.
“Since it is a virus, it can spread and within five years all cocoa trees in the area will be attacked,” he said.
Mr Antwi-Adjei stated that the government had an incentive package for farmers to replant and maintain their farms till their plants started bearing fruits.
He indicated that it had been the intention of the government to put money in the pockets of farmers hence the introduction of the mass cocoa spraying exercise.
He explained that it was not advisable to plant raw seedlings in between the affected areas since the virus would affect the healthy trees.
Mr Manu Adabor, Cartographic Manager of CSSVD, said the farms would be surveyed with a new Global Position System (GPS) and divided into sectors and blocks to ensure that all the affected trees were removed.
He assured the farmers that the survey would also help them to know the amount of chemicals to be applied for a block or sector.
The Executive Director of CSSVD, Mr F.E. Nsiah, commended the chiefs for their preparedness to make the programme a success.
He said the work was quite cumbersome but his men would prove equal to the task.
The chiefs complained about the delay in the payment, and sometimes non-payment of compensation to farmers.
Also, they wanted all the produce from the area to be sold to cocoa merchants there instead of selling them in different regions.
They maintained that since such practices existed, they were usually under-supplied with inputs to maintain their farms and cited the mass spraying as an example.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
PROF ADEI UNHAPPY WITH BOARDS (GRAPHIC NSEMPA, PAGE 10)
By Collins Agyekum-Gyasi, Kumasi
THE immediate past Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration [GIMPA], Professor Stephen Adei, has observed that the widespread ineffectiveness of boards, especially in the public sector, has contributed terribly to undermining Ghana’s development.
He said the challenges faced by many otherwise giant institutions leading to the collapse of some companies such as the Ghana Airways could be traced directly to bad corporate governance practices in this country.
Among the causes of the poor performance of boards in Ghana, he said, were the appointment of board members for the wrong reasons and not on the basis of their orientation and training.
He also cited undue interventions by appointing authorities in the day-to-day work of boards leading to lack of independence, virtual absence of performance monitoring and evaluation of boards.
Also, conflict of interest and even corruption including collusion between executive and non-executive directors, poor official remuneration of board members and weak enforcement of laws regarding boards, had all contributed to the situation.
Prof. Adei made the statement when he addressed the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology [KNUST] School of Business’ maiden Business Week celebration.
It was on the theme “Corporate Governance in Ghana; Emerging Issues”.
Prof. Adei observed that the key purpose of a board was to ensure the organisation’s prosperity by directing the company’s affairs while meeting the appropriate interest of its shareholders and relevant stakeholders’.
He said for boards to discharge their responsibilities well, it was required that people who offer themselves and were appointed to boards and councils were competent in terms of skills and experience.
In his welcoming address, the president of the KNUST School of Business Students Association, Mr Theophilus Kofi Anyanful, paid glowing tribute to past and present Vice Chancellors for their visionary leadership, which had moved the school from the times it was only a Department to date
Dr Eva Tagoe Darko, Lecturer at the School, urged the students to take their lessons seriously to achieve their goals of leaving the university as people with great minds.
“Use your books and dictionaries than the sophiscated phones,” he advised.
THE immediate past Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration [GIMPA], Professor Stephen Adei, has observed that the widespread ineffectiveness of boards, especially in the public sector, has contributed terribly to undermining Ghana’s development.
He said the challenges faced by many otherwise giant institutions leading to the collapse of some companies such as the Ghana Airways could be traced directly to bad corporate governance practices in this country.
Among the causes of the poor performance of boards in Ghana, he said, were the appointment of board members for the wrong reasons and not on the basis of their orientation and training.
He also cited undue interventions by appointing authorities in the day-to-day work of boards leading to lack of independence, virtual absence of performance monitoring and evaluation of boards.
Also, conflict of interest and even corruption including collusion between executive and non-executive directors, poor official remuneration of board members and weak enforcement of laws regarding boards, had all contributed to the situation.
Prof. Adei made the statement when he addressed the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology [KNUST] School of Business’ maiden Business Week celebration.
It was on the theme “Corporate Governance in Ghana; Emerging Issues”.
Prof. Adei observed that the key purpose of a board was to ensure the organisation’s prosperity by directing the company’s affairs while meeting the appropriate interest of its shareholders and relevant stakeholders’.
He said for boards to discharge their responsibilities well, it was required that people who offer themselves and were appointed to boards and councils were competent in terms of skills and experience.
In his welcoming address, the president of the KNUST School of Business Students Association, Mr Theophilus Kofi Anyanful, paid glowing tribute to past and present Vice Chancellors for their visionary leadership, which had moved the school from the times it was only a Department to date
Dr Eva Tagoe Darko, Lecturer at the School, urged the students to take their lessons seriously to achieve their goals of leaving the university as people with great minds.
“Use your books and dictionaries than the sophiscated phones,” he advised.
PARENTS ASKED TO ASSIST SCHOOL MANAGEMENT (GRAPHIC NSEMPA, PAGE 10)
By Collins Agyekum-Gyasi, Kumasi
REVEREND Stephen Mathyrs Acquah, the Director of the Gonzalez Educational Complex in Kumasi, has asked parents to assist school management boards to provide quality education at the basic level.
He noted that the critical challenge of education in the country was to make basic education more effective.
Rev Acquah made the remarks on Sunday at the climax of the first anniversary celebration of the school.
The anniversary had the theme, ‘Focusing on Child Training Technology’.
Rev Acquah said teaching was not an easy work but with the cooperation of parents and other stakeholders, teachers would be motivated enough to give of their best to lay a solid foundation for the children entrusted in their care.
“Without fortified foundation at the basic level, whatever system you adopt in teaching will not be successful,” he stressed.
He said the Gonzalez School needed parents’ assistance to train the children in Information Communication Technology [ICT] and also put up a permanent school block and provide logistics for the school.
The chairman of the school’s PTA, Mr Mark Asare Donkor, said education was very expensive throughout the world but parents should think of its benefits and invest in their children to become responsible future leaders.
He called for effective coordination between parents and school authorities to enhance sustainable growth of the children.
Mr Donkor pleaded with the school board to fence the campus to protect the children from going outside.
The Director of Ghana Inland Mission, Rev E.K Basoah, said parents should go the extra mile to train children to take the mantle of leadership in the future.
He advised parents to attend church services with their children and not to leave them behind.
REVEREND Stephen Mathyrs Acquah, the Director of the Gonzalez Educational Complex in Kumasi, has asked parents to assist school management boards to provide quality education at the basic level.
He noted that the critical challenge of education in the country was to make basic education more effective.
Rev Acquah made the remarks on Sunday at the climax of the first anniversary celebration of the school.
The anniversary had the theme, ‘Focusing on Child Training Technology’.
Rev Acquah said teaching was not an easy work but with the cooperation of parents and other stakeholders, teachers would be motivated enough to give of their best to lay a solid foundation for the children entrusted in their care.
“Without fortified foundation at the basic level, whatever system you adopt in teaching will not be successful,” he stressed.
He said the Gonzalez School needed parents’ assistance to train the children in Information Communication Technology [ICT] and also put up a permanent school block and provide logistics for the school.
The chairman of the school’s PTA, Mr Mark Asare Donkor, said education was very expensive throughout the world but parents should think of its benefits and invest in their children to become responsible future leaders.
He called for effective coordination between parents and school authorities to enhance sustainable growth of the children.
Mr Donkor pleaded with the school board to fence the campus to protect the children from going outside.
The Director of Ghana Inland Mission, Rev E.K Basoah, said parents should go the extra mile to train children to take the mantle of leadership in the future.
He advised parents to attend church services with their children and not to leave them behind.
STEALING AT POLICE BARRACKS (GRAPHIC NSEMPA, PAGE 3)
By Collins Agyekum Gyasi, Kumasi.
EVEN in the midst of the scores of men and women of the police at the Dichemso Police Barracks in Kumasi, some young men had the courage to go to the barracks to steal.
Luck, however, run out for them when they were arrested but this was after one of them had inflicted cutlass wounds on the policeman who arrested him.
A Kumasi Circuit Court has sentenced one of them, Nicholas Ayirensah. 20, to 15 years jail term for organising and taking part in the stealing of some items from the barracks.
He pleaded guilty to the charges of unlawful entry, stealing and causing unlawful harm preferred against him when he appeared before the court presided over by Mr Emmanuel Amoh Yartey.
His two accomplices, Victor Awonbigo Aramba, who claimed to be a student of Ghana National Academy, Kumasi, and Ibrahim Awudu, a 19-year-old petty trader, were however remanded into prison custody.
The two pleaded not guilty to the charges of unlawful entry and conspiracy to steal when they appeared before the court.
Presenting the facts of the case, the prosecutor, Chief Inspector Archibald Kwasi Fandoh, said on February 10, this year, the convict and his accomplices went to the Dichemso Police barracks around 1.20 a.m. by scaling over a wall at the compound of the barracks.
He said they were carrying a sharp dagger, a pair of scissors, pliers and four mobile phone chargers as well as an unserviceable mobile phone when they entered the barracks.
Chief Inspector Yartey said on entering the police barracks, they expertly used the knife and scissors to open one of the rooms to steal
In the process, the complainant in the case, District Sergeant Major [DSM] Francis Yirenkyi, spotted them and enquired of what they were doing.
On hearing the voice of the DSM, the three took to their heels but the complainant succeeded in arresting Nicholas who attempted to scale over the fence wall.
In the process of arresting Nicholas Ayirensah, he pulled out the knife and slashed the forehead of the complainant, his left arm and back.
The prosecutor said some concerned neighbours and policemen who arrived there assisted in arresting the convict and sent him to the police station.
During police investigations, Nicholas confessed that they went there to steal and mentioned Aramba and Awudu as his accomplices, and led police to arrest them in different houses at Moshie Zongo.
EVEN in the midst of the scores of men and women of the police at the Dichemso Police Barracks in Kumasi, some young men had the courage to go to the barracks to steal.
Luck, however, run out for them when they were arrested but this was after one of them had inflicted cutlass wounds on the policeman who arrested him.
A Kumasi Circuit Court has sentenced one of them, Nicholas Ayirensah. 20, to 15 years jail term for organising and taking part in the stealing of some items from the barracks.
He pleaded guilty to the charges of unlawful entry, stealing and causing unlawful harm preferred against him when he appeared before the court presided over by Mr Emmanuel Amoh Yartey.
His two accomplices, Victor Awonbigo Aramba, who claimed to be a student of Ghana National Academy, Kumasi, and Ibrahim Awudu, a 19-year-old petty trader, were however remanded into prison custody.
The two pleaded not guilty to the charges of unlawful entry and conspiracy to steal when they appeared before the court.
Presenting the facts of the case, the prosecutor, Chief Inspector Archibald Kwasi Fandoh, said on February 10, this year, the convict and his accomplices went to the Dichemso Police barracks around 1.20 a.m. by scaling over a wall at the compound of the barracks.
He said they were carrying a sharp dagger, a pair of scissors, pliers and four mobile phone chargers as well as an unserviceable mobile phone when they entered the barracks.
Chief Inspector Yartey said on entering the police barracks, they expertly used the knife and scissors to open one of the rooms to steal
In the process, the complainant in the case, District Sergeant Major [DSM] Francis Yirenkyi, spotted them and enquired of what they were doing.
On hearing the voice of the DSM, the three took to their heels but the complainant succeeded in arresting Nicholas who attempted to scale over the fence wall.
In the process of arresting Nicholas Ayirensah, he pulled out the knife and slashed the forehead of the complainant, his left arm and back.
The prosecutor said some concerned neighbours and policemen who arrived there assisted in arresting the convict and sent him to the police station.
During police investigations, Nicholas confessed that they went there to steal and mentioned Aramba and Awudu as his accomplices, and led police to arrest them in different houses at Moshie Zongo.
WORKSHOP ON BEST PRACICES FOR FARMERS (PAGE 28)
FARMERS have been urged to adopt best practices in the application of crop care products on their farms.
The Technical Support and Development Manager of Golden Stork Limited, a registered importer and distributor of crop-care products, Mr Patrick Dewatre, who made the call, said poor application of the products could be harmful to the crops and the people who consume the farm products.
He was addressing about 60 participants across the country at a day’s workshop for its clients and distributors in Kumasi to showcase its products to the farming public, and to teach them the best application of its chemicals.
Golden Stork Ltd based in Tema is a subsidiary of the French company, SCPA Sivex International (SSI) in Paris, which operates in seven African countries including Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroun and Burkina Faso.
Mr Dewatre said farmers must always go for better results and they could do that when they adopted approved methods of farming.
‘To identify a product, look for the trademark, active ingredient, content and the type of formula and its origin because there are several imitated chemical products on the markets,” he said.
Currently, four of Golden Stork products on the Ghanaian market are insecticides, weed killers, fertilizer and pesticide which kill sucking pests like white flies, and scales and those in the soil such as termites and ants.
Other members of the company at the function were Mr Didier Gonsolin, Business Manager, (Agric Products), Messrs William Nuamah and Stephen Tour, both Agronomists (Fertilizers and Agro-chemicals respectively).
The Technical Support and Development Manager of Golden Stork Limited, a registered importer and distributor of crop-care products, Mr Patrick Dewatre, who made the call, said poor application of the products could be harmful to the crops and the people who consume the farm products.
He was addressing about 60 participants across the country at a day’s workshop for its clients and distributors in Kumasi to showcase its products to the farming public, and to teach them the best application of its chemicals.
Golden Stork Ltd based in Tema is a subsidiary of the French company, SCPA Sivex International (SSI) in Paris, which operates in seven African countries including Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroun and Burkina Faso.
Mr Dewatre said farmers must always go for better results and they could do that when they adopted approved methods of farming.
‘To identify a product, look for the trademark, active ingredient, content and the type of formula and its origin because there are several imitated chemical products on the markets,” he said.
Currently, four of Golden Stork products on the Ghanaian market are insecticides, weed killers, fertilizer and pesticide which kill sucking pests like white flies, and scales and those in the soil such as termites and ants.
Other members of the company at the function were Mr Didier Gonsolin, Business Manager, (Agric Products), Messrs William Nuamah and Stephen Tour, both Agronomists (Fertilizers and Agro-chemicals respectively).
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