The President of the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana, Dr Charles Nyaaba, has disputed the reasons outlined by the Ghana Cocobod for the low production of cocoa.
In an interview on Joy FM’s Midday News on Wednesday, June 12, Dr Nyaaba said the reasons outlined by the Cocobod Chief Executive, Joseph Boahen Aidoo indicate that the agency has been shortchanging farmers on pricing.
“I disagree with that….Why would anybody sell to somebody if the person is not offering better prices? When you talk about marketing issues, it is different from production. This production decrease has got nothing to do with the smuggling he is talking about. The production itself is going down,” he stated.
His comment follows Cocobod’s revelation about a decrease in cocoa production in the first quarter of 2024 compared to last year, 2023, resulting in a revenue shortfall of $500 million.
The COCOBOD Chief Executive explained that some Russians working with their Ghanaian counterparts are buying cocoa beans from farmers and selling them on the black market, while climate change has also contributed to the low production of cocoa.
However, according to Dr Nyaaba, the production of cocoa has nothing to do with the reasons given by the COCOBOD CEO. He noted that production is dwindling “because COCOBOD failed to motivate and incentivize farmers.”
Dr. Nyaaba also blamed the government for failing to curb illegal mining which is impacting cocoa production negatively.
“The government itself failed to control the illegal mining and cutting down of cocoa farms, confiscating farms from cocoa farmers and using them for galamsey and other mining activities. These are the underlying factors. If you talk of climate change, it is happening everywhere,” he added.
He therefore urged COCOBOD not to only focus on when there is an increase in global prices but also to work to incentivise farmers as well.