He named the challenges militating
against cocoa production in the country as the unreliable supply of inputs to farmers as a direct result of the «free» input policy adopted by the government, new brands of chemical inputs released to cocoa farmers in Ghana without adequate trials and research by designated institutions, low producer prices paid to farmers and the politicisation of the mass spraying and fertiliser distribution programme.
Additionally, Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire have also agreed to intensify collaboration, in the field of scientific research for the
production of
cocoa plants, the improvement of plant varieties, and also to adopt and implement a regional programme to fight
against the swollen shoot disease.