Cocoa farmers demand their monies; give PBC a month to pay

Some aggrieved cocoa farmers at Annorkrom in the Bia-West District of the Western Region, have asked the Produce Buying Company (PBC) to facilitate the immediate payment for their cocoa beans it purchased some months back.

They have thus given the PBC a one-month ultimatum to release funds for prompt payments, including bonuses, or face their anger.

According to the angry farmers, they did not understand the delays in the payment process, as the PBC purchasing clerks kept telling them that the government had not released the money. Madam Afia Dede, expressed her utmost disappointment in the government for failing to pay the farmers after buying their produce.

She further expressed worry that successive governments had failed to recognise the contributions of farmers towards nation building, and called on government to pay their monies and additional bonuses.

Mr Joseph Yeboah, another farmer at Dansokrom, observed that the existing communication gap between government and cocoa farmers was not cordial and recommended the setting up of an independent body that would serve as a link between the farmers and the government for easy flow of information.

Mr Emmanuel Yaw Yeboah a farmer and the committee chairman of the Dansokrom electoral area said he sold out four bags of cocoa beans, but had not been paid. “Farming is what I do to fend for my family and if the government buys my produce and fails to pay me, what do they expect me and my family to depend on”, he retorted When contacted, Mr Joseph Basta, a Purchasing Clerk of the PBC in the area said he had officially communicated the payment issue to his office, but nothing fruitful had since been done.

He entreated the farmers to be patient, assuring that the government would pay them as soon as possible.