COCOBOD partners Agri Plus to fight cocoa pests with ‘Transform Akate’
The Ghana COCOBOD has partnered Agri Plus to control pest infestations in the country’s cocoa sector. A new and effective insecticides known as ‘Transform Akate’, has been introduced through this collaboration to support cocoa farmers fight various insect and pest infestations in their plantations and ultimately improve yield.
Transform Akate is a trade mark for ISOCLAST Active, a new foliar-applied sap feeding insecticide for control of a wide range of sap feeding pests, is being manufactured Corteva Agriscience. The product was initially piloted in the Ashanti Region of Ghana with a great deal of success informing its extension and application in the Western Region of Ghana, and with time across all cocoa growing communities in the country.
Manager in-charge of Cocoa Health Extension Division of COCOBOD, Western South Region, Samuel Asare Ankama in an interview at the sidelines of the launch of Transform Akate product in the Western Region, said the testimonies and results emanating from the application of the product is amazing. He explained that COCOBOD has procured the product for its mass spraying exercise, and that farmers will have it applied in their farmlands at no cost to them.
“We are going to encourage the mass spraying teams to make sure it goes down well to the farms as far as cocoa production is concerned. It’s free of charge. Government has secured the product from the suppliers for the farmers” he said.
Sales and Marketing Manager for Agri Plus, Stephen Appiah Yeboah avers the product had undergone a ten year research and testing, and thus provides a perfect solution to fighting capsid, blackpod diseases and other insect infestations in cocoa.
He disclosed that product unlike other insecticides, is environmentally friendlier with an excellent knockdown and residual efficacy.
“We sat down through painstakingly research that we wanted to come up with a product that will not only kill ‘akate’ but will be environmentally friendly but it will be healthy for the users, farmers and sprayers” Mr Appiah Yeboah explained.
Adding on to the exceptional qualities of the Transform Akate insecticide, Mr Appiah Yeboah said “it supports flowering of the cocoa plant, by isolating beneficial insects that supports the natural reproduction of plants, and only attack the infectious ones”
Mr Appiah Yeboah continued that the company has a team of technical and extension officers to compliment that of COCOBOD to enhance the application of the insecticides, and its resulting outcome.
“What we have as a strategy is to work in line with the structure of COCOBOD to ensure that the dose rate is gotten right. We have our own extension agents who work with the extension officers of COCOBOD and the communities, engage with the farmers, educate them on the application of this product” he mentioned.
