Principal State Attorney Stella Ohene Appiah has made a firm statement, clarifying that the prosecution's case does not contend that the purchase of lithovit liquid fertilizer by COCOBOD resulted in a decline in cocoa production between 2014 and 2016.

In a surprising revelation, the prosecutor acknowledged that former COCOBOD Chief Executive Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni and businessman Alhaji Seidu Agongo are facing prosecution, among others, not because the lithovit liquid fertilizer purchased and distributed to farmers failed to significantly increase cocoa production.

This disclosure by Stella Ohene Appiah stands in contrast to claims suggesting that the lithovit liquid fertilizer was substandard and that the state did not receive value for money during COCOBOD's procurement of it, resulting in charges of causing financial loss to the state being leveled against the accused individuals.

Meanwhile, the witness, Dr. Francis Baah, who is also the former Director of the Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED) of COCOBOD, testified during his evidence-in-chief about the effectiveness of lithovit fertilizer, which he claimed was favored by cocoa farmers.

During cross-examination, counsel for Alhaji Seidu Agongo sought to inquire about the prosecution's claim regarding the failure of lithovit fertilizer and its alleged impact on cocoa production.

However, Stella Ohene Appiah objected to the question, asserting that the prosecution's case did not hinge on the decline in production due to the use of lithovit liquid fertilizer.

In response, Benson Nutsukpui, counsel for Alhaji Seidu Agongo, referenced the charge sheet, which purportedly indicated that the supplied lithovit fertilizer did not meet the specified standard and was potentially harmful.

Stella Ohene Appiah conceded that the prosecution's concern was centered on the lack of a significant increase in cocoa yield rather than the fertilizer's failure specifically.

The witness, Dr. Francis Baah, emphasized that attributing the rise or fall in cocoa production to a single fertilizer without a specific study or report would be unjustified. He confirmed that COCOBOD evaluates all fertilizers through the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) to assess their impact on yield.

Subsequently, counsel for Alhaji Seidu Agongo requested the court to order the production of cocoa production records from 2012/13 to date to aid in determining whether lithovit liquid fertilizer affected cocoa production, a request supported by Dr. Opuni's counsel, Samuel Codjoe. The prosecution did not oppose the request, and the court granted it.