COCOA REHAB

closed

The Government's top priority for the country's agricultural sector includes restoring cocoa production and exports so as to generate foreign exchange and to redress a marked negative trade balance. In accordance with this priority, the objectives of the proposed project are: (a) alleviating the constraints currently impeding the increased production of cocoa; and (b) establishing the necessary infrastructure to maintain the momentum of development in the cocoa sub-sector in the future. To achieve these objectives, project actions would: (a) provide agricultural credit to meet the seasonal, medium-term, and long-term financing needs of creditworthy farmers and cooperatives. This would include strengthening the capacity and operational efficiency of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Rural Development (MOA) and the project implementing agencies. The project would accomplish this through the international recruitment of five specialists, on-the-job and overseas training of local staff, improvement of buildings and operating facilities, and provision of vehicles and office equipment.