I am a farmer from Gyampawuah society in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. My name is Joyce Afrifa, I am 38 years old and I supply cocoa to Fludor.
Last year, I was a part of trainings that were conducted for waste management, weed management, harvest and post-harvest practices. I was also fortunate to be amongst the farmers that were supplied with multi-purpose trees and cocoa seedlings for on-farm planting. I was educated about agroforestry and why it is necessary for the climate. I understood the importance of good farming practices and I wanted the cocoa seedlings that I was given to flourish despite the challenges I had on my farm.
Being part of Fludor Ghana Limited Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) trainings have really made me understand so many things. I am glad I joined the trainings that happened in my community as I was pleasantly surprised at how effective what they taught us was. I did not know when to do pruning on my farm and I never knew the type of pruning to do at a time. I was a bit skeptical at first when the teachings were going on because I had already tried some methods in the past and saw no difference in the weed situation on the farm. I just decided to apply it one day and it was good that I took that leap of faith.
Through the training, I now know we have heavy pruning and light pruning, and I also know when to do each one of them. I have more trust in the trainings now and I readily do what is being taught by the trainers. I have told other farmers how effective the teachings are and they want to join as well. I am proud that I was one of the farmers applying agroforestry and I am looking forward to continuing the practices I learnt last year during this season.
