The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has begun a pilot program for deducting cocoa farmers’ contributions to the Cocoa Farmers Pension Scheme.
The pilot program has started in the Assin Fosu Municipal Assembly, Assin South, and the Assin North District Assembly.
This exercise marks a historic milestone in the Ghanaian cocoa sector.
The program, which began on August 6, 2024, is expected to ensure real-time deductions of the farmers’ contributions to the scheme ahead of the nationwide rollout in the main crop season, set to start on October 1, 2024.
Mr. Stephen Kissi of Assin Amoani, a cocoa farming community in the Assin Fosu District, is among five farmers in the district who became the first to have his 5% pension contribution deducted on August 6, 2024.
The 38-year-old cocoa farmer has been farming for the past five years and cultivates nine acres of cocoa.
Some beneficiaries of the pilot project expressed excitement about being part of history and urged their fellow farmers to participate in the pilot deduction exercise to ensure they enjoy a decent pension when they retire from active farming.
Addressing the farmers at Amoani, the leader of the sensitization team, Mr. David Asare Oduro of the Public Affairs Department of COCOBOD, appealed to farmers to seize the opportunity to be part of history.
He mentioned that for 40 years, the board had been planning to fulfill a provision in the COCOBOD Law that requires a pension scheme for cocoa farmers across the country.
Mr. Asare explained that, the delay in the rollout was primarily due to the need for a robust electronic register of farmers, which is essential for a successful pension scheme.
He also revealed that other challenges within the supply chain needed to be addressed to achieve a smooth exercise.
SOURCE: Alfred Amoh
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