‘Reintroduce Akuafo Cheque System’
The 2011 National Best Farmer, Mr Ignatius Agbo, has reiterated the need for the Ghana Cocoa Board to re-introduce the Akuafo cheque payment system to enable farmers to derive maximum benefits from their hard work.
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He also suggested that the use of the Akuafo cheques should be made mandatory for all Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs).
In an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra, Mr Agbo said the current cash payment system had brought a lot of challenges to the farmers, indicating that they were frequently attacked by robbers whenever they received their payments in cash.
He cited an incident where he was attacked by robbers after receiving his payment from cocoa clerks, adding that “now that there have been increases in the cocoa prices the situation will be scary”.
Akuafo cheque system
The Akuafo cheque system was where cocoa clerks were issued with special cheques credited to a general account for cocoa farmers known as the Akuafo Account, in return for cocoa beans.
This system was introduced in the early 1980s, as part of government efforts and measures to salvage the sector and revamp production to an appreciable level. It was also meant to replace the cash and carry system.
Under the cash and carry or cash payment system, produce buying clerks buy cocoa beans from farmers using cash or cheques.
Apart from the attacks on farmers, there are also reports that this mode of payment is prone to abuse by some clerks, as most of them either divert the funds to their private accounts, bolt with the cash or issue dud cheques for payments.
Incentives
While commending the government for its efforts to save the cocoa industry, Mr Agbo said there was the need for the government to increase the supply of chemicals and spraying machines to farmers to boost their yields.
“Small-scale mining is also destroying our farms, and I would urge the government to introduce stringent measures to control this activity before the situation gets out of hand,” he said.
Cocoa smuggling
On the issue of smuggling by some farmers to neighbouring countries, Mr Agbo observed that the introduction of the new producer price of cocoa would reduce the practice drastically.
“Most of the farmers engaged in this activity partly due to the fact that the price of cocoa was very low. But with the new price, I believe this will reduce,” he said.
To help check smuggling, he indicated that the Ghana Cocoa, Coffee and Sheanut Farmers Association (GCCSFA) had put a task force in place to help reduce the practice, and called on the government to keep an eye on security personnel at the various borders.
