A farmer with a seedling produced from the soilless medium
The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) is going green in its production of cocoa seedlings.
Through its Seed Production Division (SPD), COCOBOD has partnered CHRYS FIBRE, a Ghanaian company specialising in soilless growing media, and GKC STRUCTURES LTD, to promote environmentally sustainable cocoa seedling production.
For years, cocoa seedlings have been raised using topsoil packed into polythene bags. While effective, the method poses serious environmental threats, including soil degradation from topsoil stripping and pollution from non-biodegradable polythene bags.
With global demand for sustainable cocoa on the rise, COCOBOD is shifting to innovative nursery technologies that protect the environment while producing quality planting materials.
Over the past three years, the Seed Production Division has engaged CHRYS FIBRE to explore and promote eco-friendly alternatives. The company’s technology replaces topsoil with soilless growing media and provides alternative receptacles to polythene bags.
A photo of participants during the training
The innovation eliminates the need for continuous topsoil stripping, conserves soil resources and reduces the environmental burden associated with polythene waste.
Capacity Building
To ensure effective adoption, CHRYS FIBRE, in partnership with GKC STRUCTURES LTD, organised a capacity-building programme for COCOBOD staff at the Cocoa Research Institute at Tafo in the Eastern Region.
The training equipped officers with practical skills to handle, prepare and utilise the soilless media and receptacles under Ghanaian production conditions.
Executive Director of the SPD, Dr. Francis Kwame Padi, said the training is crucial to improving seedling production while safeguarding the environment.
“The training is important because it gives our officers the knowledge and practical skills to work with new technologies that can improve cocoa seedling production while protecting the environment,” he said.
Finance and Administrative Officer of CHRYS FIBRE LTD, Joseph Evans Tetteh, said the collaboration aims to ensure proper understanding and application of the technology.
“The essence of this training is to build the capacity of the officers so they can properly handle and use the technology. We believe that collaboration with COCOBOD is important in taking this innovation to the next level,” he stated.
According to COCOBOD, the objective is not only to produce seedlings but to ensure the process aligns with environmental conservation and sustainable cocoa production principles.
The partnership is seen as a step towards a greener cocoa sector where the planting materials for tomorrow’s farms are produced in a way that protects the environment needed to sustain them for generations.
A Daily Guide Report
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