Oti Region: Dr Ransford Abbey, the Chief Executive of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), has charged cocoa farmers in the Oti Region to increase their production from 1,300 tonnes to 60,000 tonnes by 2026. He expressed concern over the low cocoa production in the country and assured farmers of government support to expand their production, which is vital for generating more revenue for the nation. According to Ghana News Agency, Dr Abbey made these remarks during a tour of cocoa-growing areas in the Oti Region, where he aimed to address challenges, listen to farmer concerns, and promote collaboration within the cocoa industry. The decline in foreign exchange inflows from cocoa has been compounded by illegal mining activities, smuggling, and crop diseases, all of which have significantly impacted yields. In the past three years, Ghana's cocoa output has decreased from over one million metric tonnes in 2021 to slightly above 500,000 tonnes in 2024. The tours prioritised direct interaction with cocoa farmers, includ ing visits to farms and participation in community meetings. The team visited various cocoa-growing regions, such as the Brong Ahafo, Ashanti, Eastern, Central, Western, and Western North regions. These visits provided an opportunity to discuss and address issues like input supply, pricing, and the overall welfare of cocoa farmers. Dr Abbey appealed to the farmers not to sell their cocoa beans to neighbouring Togo due to higher prices. He noted that the government had provided fertilisers, extension officers, and other agricultural inputs to help increase production in the country. He stressed that selling cocoa beans to Togo was detrimental to the country's development and urged a change in attitude towards such practices. He emphasised that the government could not allocate resources to support cocoa farmers only for the produce to be smuggled and sold in other African countries. Dr Abbey underscored that cocoa revenue is used to provide social amenities like schools, hospitals, and infrastructure project s, urging farmers to work hard to increase production and assuring them of government support in meeting these objectives. Mr Linus Attey, Regent for Bowiri Kyiriah in the Oti Region, expressed concern about the low interest of the youth in cocoa farming and urged COCOBOD to create awareness about its importance to motivate and attract the youth into the industry. Meanwhile, Mr Freeman Dankwa, Assemblyman for Bowiri Kyiriah, pledged to mobilise a taskforce to prevent the smuggling of cocoa beans to neighbouring countries and appealed for solutions to network communication challenges in the area to ensure smooth communication.