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The eye of the Administration of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has been drawn to publications on sure media platforms citing statements made by former President John Dramani Mahama, alluding to a collapse of Ghana’s cocoa sector.
The Former President made these statements whereas touring the Western North Area, claiming the producer worth and mismanagement have collapsed the cocoa sector. Mr Mahama justified farmers giving their cocoa farms to unlawful mining as a result of low remuneration.
Administration of COCOBOD refutes the notion of a collapsing cocoa trade. Such statements are deceptive and detrimental to an important sector like cocoa, which kinds the muse of Ghana’s economic system. We, subsequently, want to use the chance to make some clarifications and in addition set the data straight.
It’s extensively acknowledged that Galamsey operations pose a major hazard to our nation, and any makes an attempt to justify or rationalise the conversion of a bit of land, particularly a cocoa farm, right into a Galamsey web site, just like the Former President sought to do, have to be met with contempt.
This menace has the potential to negate all of the investments made by the federal government to modernise cocoa farming and enhance productiveness. It’s, subsequently, essential that outstanding figures in our society train warning when making public statements that rationalize cocoa farmers buying and selling their farms for momentary financial profit by way of unlawful mining.
Administration additionally needs to put on report, that the Former President’s assertion relating to the rise in cocoa producer costs yearly throughout his administration is inaccurate, for the reason that data accessible level to the alternative. Particularly, there was no upward adjustment of the producer worth of cocoa within the 2012/2013 Crop Season. Equally, the producer worth of the previous season was maintained for the 2015/2016 Crop Season, with no upward adjustment.
Certainly, inside a three-year interval of the Former President’s administration, i.e. the 2010/2011 to 2012/2013 crop season, there was a complete of six (6) p.c enhance within the producer worth. In distinction, inside the final three years, there was a 23 p.c, 0 p.c and a 21 p.c enhance within the producer worth of cocoa.
It is very important be aware that the producer worth is basically decided by worldwide market costs in addition to different trade prices, and each effort is made to reach at a producer worth that’s honest to farmers even when worldwide market circumstances are unfavourable.
We additional want to placed on report and in addition guarantee most of the people that the cocoa trade just isn’t collapsing as being portrayed by the Former President. Ghana recorded its highest ever cocoa manufacturing quantity of 1 million and forty-five thousand 5 hundred metric tonnes (1,045,500) within the 2020/21 Crop Season. A cocoa trade which holds the place because the second highest producer on this planet can not even be mentioned to have collapsed.
COCOBOD continues to put money into interventions which is able to guarantee not simply the sustenance however the progress of the trade. Notably, the Hand Pollination Programme that will increase pod rely; the Mass Pruning Programme to boost pests and illness management and induce flowering in addition to the Cocoa Rehabilitation Programme which seeks to cope with the Cocoa Swollen Shoot virus illness that has ravaged about 45% of our cocoa tree inventory. That is the most important intervention that has ever been made to reverse the most important threats that face the trade.
At the moment, by way of a facility from the African Improvement Financial institution (AfDB), a complete of 38515.54 hectares of in any other case diseased and unproductive cocoa farms have been totally rehabilitated up to now, and a few 59151.44 hectares have additionally been handled. The method of restoring different diseased farms is ongoing throughout the nation.
For the primary time within the historical past of the trade, COCOBOD is enrolling cocoa farmers throughout the nation onto the Cocoa Farmers Pension Scheme (CFPS) to make sure an honest retirement.
COCOBOD stays dedicated to supporting farmers and guaranteeing the sustainability of the cocoa trade, and we’ll proceed to work carefully with our stakeholders to attain our targets.
We name on most of the people to assist our efforts.
Supply: Peacefmonline.com
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