Discontent grows as Farmers Association calls for halt in cocoa production over inadequate farm-gate price
Nana Oboadie Bonsu Boateng, President of the Concerned Farmers Association, has called on cocoa farmers to halt cocoa cultivation in response to ongoing disputes over the government’s management of cocoa farm-gate prices.
In a bold statement reflecting growing discontent, Mr. Boateng announced, “We are abandoning cocoa farming altogether! Our intention is to uproot all cocoa trees and pivot to rubber and maize cultivation.”
He accused the Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) of misleading farmers with substandard farm-gate cocoa prices, which has led many farmers in the Western North Region to transition to alternative crops such as maize and rubber.
Mr. Boateng further criticized COCOBOD’s apparent neglect of farmers’ welfare, highlighting the lack of dedicated healthcare facilities and the cancellation of cocoa road contracts aimed at improving infrastructure in cocoa-producing regions.
Questioning the equitable distribution of profits from cocoa sales on the global market, he underscored the glaring disparity between international selling prices and the paltry payments received by farmers.
He further lambasted government-aligned proponents within the cocoa farming community and cautioned that continued underpayment by COCOBOD could exacerbate smuggling activities.
Concluding his remarks, Mr. Boateng asserted that the prevailing farm-gate cocoa price falls far short of acceptable levels.
He advocated for farmers to bypass COCOBOD and directly engage with foreign partners to maximize profitability, emphasizing the incongruity of COCOBOD selling at GHS 8,000 while disbursing a mere GHS 2,000 to farmers.
Minority describes 58% increase in farm-gate price as a ‘rip-off’
According to the Minority Caucus in Parliament, the Government has short-changed cocoa farmers with the 58% increment in farm-gate prices for cocoa beans.
The Minority argues that, the 58% increment constitutes a paltry 25.47% of the world market price of cocoa.
“It is sad to note that the newly announced producer price of GH¢33,120 per tonne, which translates into GH¢2,070 per bag, constitutes a paltry 25.47% of the world market price of cocoa”.
“We wish to reiterate that this is a rip-off of our hard-working cocoa farmers, as it constitutes the lowest percentage of the international market price of cocoa ever given to Ghanaian cocoa farmers as a farm-gate price in the history of this country.”
“The farm-gate price increment contradicts an earlier pledge by President Akufo-Addo to give Ghanaian cocoa farmers a farm-gate price constituting a minimum of 70% of the international market price,” the Minority Caucus stated.
The Minority Caucus is of the view that cocoa farmers should be earning GH¢8,125 per bag of cocoa or GHS 130,000 per ton of cocoa given the new price surge on the international market.
