Ghana Cocoa Board Concerned Over Use of ‘Anointing Oil’ on Crop

March 4 (Bloomberg) -- The cocoa-industry regulator in Ghana, the world’s second-biggest grower of the chocolate ingredient, said it is concerned that “unscrupulous persons” are encouraging farmers to spray “anointing oil” on their crop to boost yields.

“These persons who claim to be ‘prophets’ and ‘pastors’ are using local FM stations and information centers in the cocoa-growing areas to misinform our hardworking cocoa farmers,” the Ghana Cocoa Board said in an e-mailed statement today.

Ghana, which neighbors the world’s biggest grower Ivory Coast, encourages farmers to increase the use of pesticide, fungicide and fertilizer to control crop diseases in a bid to raise output to 1 million metric tons of beans by 2012.

The Accra-based board, known as Cocobod, also urged farmers to report people who promote the use of religious ointments on cocoa trees to the country’s security agencies.

(Source: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-03-04/ghana-cocoa-board-concerned-over-use-of-anointing-oil-on-crop.html)