Written September 2008
Country: Ghana
Nana Owusi from Samreboi, Ghana
“Cocoa Abrabopa is very good for us,” says Nana Owusi, chairperson of the Sika Nti group (which means “because of money”).
Owusi has been a farmer for 11 years. This is his third season with the Cocoa Abrabopa Association (CAA). Owusi was convinced he should join after learning that he could buy fertilizer on credit.
In the past, Owusi thought he couldn’t afford fertilizer, but now he sees how agro-inputs help his crop grow better. In his first two seasons with the association, Owusi harvested three bags per acre (463 kilograms/hectare [kg/ha]); he now harvests 12 bags (1,853 kg/ha).
Owusi says that the most valuable information he received from CAA was how to be a better businessman. “Before I joined the association, I went to my farm only occasionally, but now I go every day,” he says. “I’ve learned that cocoa farming is like a shop: If you don’t open your doors every day, you don’t make money.”
With his increased yields, Owusi and his wife now have enough money to pay school fees for their six children and are building a new house. They have also bought a taxi that generates more income. “We now have a bank account and have begun saving money for the future,” Owusi says.
Owusi now has no trouble recruiting members to join the Sika Nti group. “The product sells itself,” he says. “When people see how our yields have increased, they want to join too.”