File photo of some cocoa growers
The Ghana National Cocoa Farmers Association has asked for an immediate rise in the price for the new cocoa planting season.
The Association claims farmers will accept nothing less than GH¢6,000. Farmers warn of negative consequences if demand is not met, citing Ghana’s low cocoa prices.
In an interview with the media, Stephenson Anane Boateng, National President of the Ghana National Cocoa Farmers Association, noted that Ghana had the lowest cocoa price in the sub-region.
He mentioned that various hurdles to cocoa production have made life more difficult for growers.
He stated that the concerns they have voiced are not politically driven and will benefit farmers and the country as a whole.
Cocoa growers, he disclosed, are struggling to get workers, and a number of other problems have made cocoa production more challenging.
He cautioned that if the government does not take action to entice cocoa farmers, the sector may collapse. He spoke during a farmers’ rally and news conference in Tarkwa.
Nana Thomas Boakye, the Huni Valley District’s Best Cocoa Farmer, went on to say that cocoa farmers who once had multiple estates in the country are now reduced to beggars as a result of successive governments’ indifference.
He encouraged the government to act quickly before the cocoa industry collapsed completely.
