Ghana to expand cocoa production coverage - industry regulator

Ghana will aim to raise the area under cocoa production by 750,000 hectares over the next decade, the chief executive of cocoa industry regulator Cocobod said on Thursday, from about 1 million hectares now.
Ghana, the world's second biggest cocoa producer, is targeting production of 850,000-900,000 tonnes for the 2015-16 season that began last October up from production in the previous season of about 740,000.
Cocobod Chief Executive Stephen Opuni gave no details of how the increase in area under production would be achieved or on the progress of the cocoa season.
Some farmers have complained about a lack of rain and a severe seasonal dry Harmattan wind.
Opuni said Cocobod was distributing 60 million free seedlings to farmers this year, up from 50 million last year.
"The planting material is free and we have identified more than 30,000 young men and women who are attracted into cocoa farming and we will continue to motivate them by supplying them with materials and agronomist extension services," he told reporters.
Production during the 2014-15 cocoa season fell below the initial Cocobod target of more than 1 million tonnes and many in the industry hope this season will provide a rebound.
*First published by Reuters