Cocoa target may not be achieved due to galamsey
Illegal mining activities may hamper Ghana to meet its one million tonnes of cocoa target by the close of the year.
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The country is 30 per cent short of meeting the target despite making a significant jump from 200,000 to 256,000 bags produced in the Bekwai District alone over the last two years.
The Quality Control Officer of COCOBOD for the Bekwai District, Mr Henry Yaw Asamoah, made these statements at this year’s premium announcement by Cocoa Merchants and COCOANECT, both cocoa buying companies and Nestle at Bekwai last Wednesday.
Targets
He said the Bekwai District alone could have produced at least 300,000 bags this year, but attaining that figure had been hampered by illegal mining activities.
Mr Asamoah painted a gloomy picture of how farms had been badly affected, as well as the quality of some of the beans, saying that illegal mining was the main cause of the country not being able to achieve its target.
He, however, commended the buying companies for several interventions, including training and the provision of logistics for the farmers.
Premium
About 2,918 farmers were presented with a cheque for GH¢885,950.00 to be shared following the announcement of a new premium of GH¢12.00 per bag.
There was no significant change from last year’s premium, but the farmers expressed satisfaction for the recognition, the promptness of the payment, as well as the award given to distinguished farmers.
Scholarship
Mr Asamoah called on the government to re-look the COCOBOD scholarship programme, which was originally meant for children of cocoa farmers.
He said most beneficiaries had been short-changed and rather children of the rich and affluent were being offered the scholarships.
He called on COCOBOD to revisit the original intent of the scholarship programme in order to ease the stress of paying school fees by cocoa farmers.
Prompt payment
Mr Asamoah pleaded with other buying companies not to withhold the money of farmers which had been the main demotivating factor in the chain of production.
He said some of the buying companies waited till they were harassed by the farmers before cash was released.
The Managing Director, Cocoa Merchants Limited, Mr Kofi Opoku Mensah, pleaded with Nestle to try and increase the volume of certified cocoa beans they bought from the farmer groups since they had the capacity to produce more than the quantities purchased.
He said certification was a key ingredient in the production chain because consumers were becoming increasingly concern about social, environmental and economic issues in the cocoa supply chain.
