MILAN – The Ghanaian President John Mahama (in the picture) has announced plans to increase coffee production from current 6,000 to 100,000 tonnes in the next years. The announcement was made during the President’s state of the nation address on Thursday.
To this aim, five million improved early maturing and high yielding coffee seedlings of a high-yielding variety, developed by the Cocoa Research Institute, are being raised and will be distributed freely to farmers interested in growing the crop.
The Institute claims this variety can start bearing within two or three years after planting, with good management.
The Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod) is going to promote coffee production in areas with less rainfall that are considered marginal for cocoa production.
In contrast with cocoa, coffee can thrive in areas with less rainfall; about 1,200 mm to 2,000 mm of rain per annum but can also grow in areas with a minimum of 1,000 mm of rain per annum if supplemented with irrigation
Parts of the Volta, Eastern and Central regions as well as the transition areas of the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo regions, are suitable for coffee growing and the president said communities like Techiman, Wenchi, Bechem, Nkoranza, Atebubu, Kwame Danso, Drobo, Akomadan, Offinso, Mampong Ashanti, Kete Krachi and Dambai are being targeted for “aggressive promotion of coffee cultivation.”
