The Chairman of the Assin North Cocoa Cooperative, Samuel Torbi, says there was no justification for anyone to claim that the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) received no value for the amounts it invested in the purchase of Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser.
Mr. Torbi said the liquid fertiliser was worth its value, and that those cocoa farmers would not forgive anybody who made that assertion, since “Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser is a farmer’s messiah, and I also don’t believe that any staff from COCOBOD will come out and say such a thing.”
According to him, he recorded his best yield in the 2015/16 and 2016/17 cocoa seasons, as a result of applying the controversial Lithovit Fertiliser on his farms.
Mr. Torbi wa the second defence witness in the trial of the former Chief Executive (CE) of COCOBOD, Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni, Seidu Agongo and his company, Agricult Ghana Limited.
He also said this while testifying at the Criminal Division ‘1’ of the Accra High Court, presided over by a Supreme Court Justice, Clemence Honyenuga, on Monday.
The witness told the court that it would be out of place for any person from COCOBOD to condemn the agrochemical, since he harvested 8,125 kilogrammes of cocoa beans in the 2015/2016 cocoa season, after applying Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser.
He said this bumper harvest was against the application of other fertilisers, which yielded 2,875kg and 3,687kg of cocoa beans in the 2013/14 and 2014/15 cocoa seasons respectively.
Mr. Torbi further contended that no farmer drank Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser on his farm, as the court was made to believe by the prosecution star witness, Dr. Yaw Adu-Ampomah.
This was as the defence counsel for Mr. Agongo and his company, Nutifafa Nutsukpui, inquired about the witness’ response to the assertion made by Dr. Adu-Ampomah that a senior official from COCOBOD Headquarters in Accra had told this court that farmers were drinking Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser on their farms.
The witness reiterated: “That will not be true, because junior officers at the CHED (Cocoa Health and Extension Division) district office will not say that, and not to talk of a senior officers.”
The witness was led by Samuel Codjeo, Counsel for Dr. Opuni, to give his evidence-in-chief and later cross-examined by Mr. Nutifafa and the Senior State Attorney, Evelyn Keelson.
Witness led in evidence by Counsel for Dr. Opuni
Q: Please, give your full name to the court.
A: My name is Samuel Torbi.
Q: Where do you live?
A: I live at Assin Fosu.
Q: What work do you do?
A: I’m a farmer.
Q: How long have you been a farmer?
A: I have been a cocoa farmer for 17 years now.
Q: Do you have a cocoa farm?
A: I have a cocoa farm.
Q: Do you know why you are before this court?
A: I’m before this court this morning because of Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser.
Q. In paragraph 2 of your witness statement, you said: “I am a farmer and have been engaged in cocoa farming for the past 17 years. I own three different farms. Two of my farms are situated in different places in the Assin North Constituency and cover an area of 10.5 and 3.5 acres respectively. There is one also in Assin Central. I’m a Member of the Ghana Cocoa Coffee and Shea Nut Association. As a cocoa farmer, I have been issued a Cocoa Card by COCOBOD as evidence of recognition. As a cocoa farmer, I am entitled to some benefits, which include scholarships for my children.
“Prior to 2014/15, I was only using granular fertiliser till when I and some farmers were introduced to liquid fertilisers. Lifet A, Sidalco and Lithovit by CHED of COCOBOD. I state that the introduction of these fertilisers was through a training programme organised for cocoa farmers in my district on the use of these new fertilisers, which I attended.
“During the training, we were instructed in the proper use of these fertilisers and were taught how to mix the liquid fertilisers with water and apply them on cocoa farms so as to achieve the proper result.
“We were further informed about the advantages of liquid fertilisers, including the fact that they did not require much rain. This was the first time I was being introduced to liquid fertilisers, and I was naturally fascinated by the fact that the fertiliser could be mixed in water and sprayed on the leaves of cocoa trees with spraying machines.
“In the 2014/15 season, I was supplied with Lifet A and Adom granular fertiliser by CHED officials at Assin Fosu. Since I had never used any liquid fertiliser, and to minimise the effect of the fertiliser, I decided to apply these new fertilisers to equal portions of my farm. I obtained a total of 3,687kg of cocoa beans, which was the highest output I’ve ever had from my farms prior to the 2014/15 season.
“This is based on the fact that prior to 2014/15, I obtained 3,437kg when I used Asaase wura.
In 2013/14, I got 2,875kg after I had applied cocoa feeds granular fertiliser on my said farm. I, therefore, became convinced about the efficacy of liquid fertilisers.
“In 2015/16, CHED supplied me with 12 litres of Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser. Since, I have had success with Lifet A Liquid Fertiliser, I was naturally convinced about the efficacy of liquid fertiliser, and I also took the risk of applying my entire farm with this Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser. I must state that the risk was worth it, as I harvested and sold 8,125kg of cocoa beans for the 2015/16 season. This quantity of cocoa beans was the highest I have ever got, and more than doubled over the previous year’s yield. Having experienced the efficacy of Lithovit, in the 2016/17 cocoa season I specifically requested that the CHED officials in Assin Fosu supplied me only with Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser. Unfortunately, I was given 8 litres as against 12 litres in the 2015/2016 cocoa season. I was informed by the CHED officials that most of the farmers wanted this Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser, hence, they (CHED) could not give me the quantity I had the previous year. I state that even with this less[er] quantity I harvested 6,187.5kg of cocoa beans. “This, again, was remarkable. I was naturally very happy with this Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser which I termed the ‘wonder fertiliser’. In my district, I’m the Chairman of the Cocoa Corporative, and in my role, I interact with most cocoa farmers. I add that other farmers in my district called and informed me about the efficacy of Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser. I, together with other farmers, vowed not to use any other fertiliser apart from Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser.
In the 2017/18 cocoa season, I went to the district office of CHED and requested Lithovit, but I was informed that COCOBOD had ceased supplying Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser. I was naturally disappointed and I combed the open market hoping and willing to purchase Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser on the open market to apply on my farm. Unfortunately, I could not obtain any on the market.
“During that season, I harvested and sold a total of 2,500kg of cocoa beans. A significant reduction in the number of cocoa beans from the two previous seasons when I applied Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser on my farm. I have to add that I did not apply any fertiliser during the cocoa season on my farms. In the 2018/19 cocoa season, I was given Sidalco Liquid Fertiliser, which I applied on my farms. I obtained a total of 2,500kg of cocoa beans, which, again, is a far reduction from the cocoa beans I harvested in the 2014/15 and 2015/16 cocoa seasons.
“I informed my colleagues about this reduction at the time on my farm as a result of the non-use of Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser, and they all confirmed a similar observation on their farms.
“I, together with my colleague farmers, again, comb the open market for Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser, but was not successful, as I could not obtain any on the open market. In the 2019/2020 season, I again requested Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser and I was informed that COCOBOD had stopped supplying that fertiliser. I got 3,687kg cocoa beans that season, a slight improvement over the previous season’s quantity, but nowhere near what I was, hitherto, harvesting when I applied Lithovit.
Q: What do you seek to do with this document?
A: I seek to tender a cocoa passbook.
Q: Why is the passbook having two names and one cancelled?
A: The officer writing the name made a mistake and had to correct it.
Prosecution raises an objection: My lord, the name on the passbook is nowhere near the name Samuel. The name on the passbook is Rockson, and this can certainly not be a mistake spelling of the name Samuel. Not by the stretch of any imagination. TOS appears at the back, on the second page. The Torbi has also been tampered with; both on the back and the second page. Here I’m raising a genuine question of not just the authenticity of the duplicate, but also the original.
It is our submission that the document the witness asks to tender as his own is not his document. Under section 52 of the Evidence Act, even if the document is relevant to the genuine question of authenticity we have raised, its relevance ought to be substantially outweighed by the genuine questions of authenticity we have raised.
Codjoe: We state that contrary to the objection raised by the prosecution, the witness has explained why his first Samuel was wrongly spelt. On the same front page, as explained by the witness, you have Samuel Torbi correctly written. On page 2 you have the picture of the witness on it, and the picture is what tells the story. As the picture is what tells the story, and as explained by the witness, he didn’t write his name wrongly. It was done by a third party.
Section 136 of the Evidence Act where states that the relevance of evidence depends on its authenticity or…
He has explained that he did not claim his name was wrongly spelt, but that it was the Purchasing Clerk of the Licence Buying Company (LBC), PPC Company Limited, who made this wrong name, which was subsequently corrected by the same person on the same day. What the prosecution has not stated is that the picture is not that of Samuel Torbi.
This document is relevant, as it contains the cocoa beans sold by the witness, together with the fertilisers which were used during the years. It is not the position of the law; we submit under Section 52 that a corrected mistake if the name on a document which is not authored by the witness should be rejected.
Nutifafa: We say that the concerns realised by the prosecution about this document should go to weight that the court will attach to its evaluation of the said document.
Court: The document is admitted in evidence for whatever it is worth.
Q: …
A: I harvested and sold the highest quantity of cocoa beans at the time I applied Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser to my farms. I and my colleague farmers were amazed when we were informed by the district office of CHED that COCOBOD had stopped distributing Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser. I state that Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser is the best fertiliser I have ever used on my cocoa farm, and I add that it is the best fertiliser ever supplied by COCOBOD. I confirm that it is a liquid fertiliser and it is very effective. Cross-examination by Nutifafa Nutsukpui
Q. Are you the only person in your family to have used Lithovit Fertiliser?
A. Yes.
Q. You told the court that the first time you used Lithovit was the 2015/16 cocoa season. Is that correct?
A. Yes.
Q. This fertiliser was distributed by COCOBOD?
A. That is so.
Q. The persons who manufacture this fertiliser were not the persons who introduced it to the farmers. That is also correct?
A. No.
Q. In your experience the years after the 2015/16 and 2016/17 seasons you had not harvested close to what you harvested over those two seasons. That is correct?
A. That is correct.
Q. You are aware that other practices may also affect yield?
A. That is correct.
Q. But taking all of those into account, will I understand you to mean that your use of the Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser was the single most important factor in the yields you made in 2015/16 and 2016/17 as compared to any other cocoa farming persons in your experience?
A. That is true.
Q. Did you have any personal issues with the fertiliser?
A. When I used it made me happy and I did not get anything negative about it.
Q. In those two seasons also, in your role as Chairman of a cooperative in your district, did any of the farmers in your district who used Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser complain to you about any challenges with their use of Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser?
A. No my lord, but rather the happiness. I had the same happiness that they had, and they said that it was me that they believe when they say cocoa farming is a business, Lithovit Fertiliser made them realise that.
Q. In those two seasons, or any point in time thereafter, did you hear of any farmers drinking Lithovit on their farms because it was such a useless product?
A. No, my lord, because the training they took us through means any medicine we spray on our cocoa is harmful to our body. So we were given gloves, nose masks, spectacles, overalls and wellington boots when spraying insecticides and fertilisers. So if someone tells you that you can drink Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser then that person is not a farmer, and no farmer will say such a thing.
Q. If a senior official from COCOBOD Headquarters in Accra tells this court that farmers were drinking Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser on their farms, that assertion by that senior official will not be a true representation of your experience in using Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser?
A. That will not be true, because junior officers at the CHED district officer will not say that, and not to talk of a senior officer.
Q. What will be your reaction when someone says that when COCOBOD bought Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser for you farmers to use, COCOBOD receive no value for the amounts that they had invested in the purchase of the fertiliser?
A. Farmers will not forgive that person because Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser is a farmers’ messiah, and I also don’t believe that any staff from COCOBOD will come out and say such a thing.
Q. Would there be any justification for someone to condemn the company or the person that brought the fertiliser?
A. No.
Cross-examination by Mrs, Keelson
Q. You told this court that you used Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser in the 2015/16 and 2016/17 cocoa seasons. Is that not so?
A. That is true.
Q. You did not use Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser in the 2013/14 cocoa season. Is that not so?
A. That is true.
Q. You also did not use the fertiliser in the 2014/15 cocoa season. Is that not so?
A. That is so.
The case adjourned to May 18 at 11:00am.
