The Ghana government is looking to offer cocoa farmers 70% of the world market price for their produce. This was announced by the The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku.
This directive, if implemented, would see an upward adjustment on a proposed 60% market price under the previous government. Currently, cocoa farmers receive just 30% of the world market price for their labour. This percentage, which cocoa farmers and agencies have regarded as meagre, has been a point of dissatisfaction for the farmers for years.
Farmers in the sector have also raised concerns of being cheated and disregarded for their hardwork.
The 70% market price is set to motivate farmers in the sector and forge Ghana’s quest to remain as the world’s second largest producer of cocoa, behind Ivory Coast. In a Facebook post, the minister lamented the consistent decline witnessed in the sector over the years.
“Since 2023, CPC’s production has been on a downward trend. Despite having a processing capacity of 64,500 tonnes, the company produced only 6,614 tonnes in 2023 and 2,886 tonnes in 2024. This decline is largely due to reduced cocoa bean production, which has affected supply to the processing company.”
“To address this challenge, I announced the government’s decision to exceed the initial 60% proposal and offer cocoa farmers 70% of the world market price. This increase is intended to motivate farmers, boost production, and further cement Ghana’s standing as the world’s second-largest producer of cocoa.”
The decline in cocoa production in Ghana has been attributed to several factors. Illegal mining is currently considered as one of the major factors crippling cocoa production rates. Investigations and consistent reports reveal that farmers are willing to destroy their cocoa farms and sell the lands to illegal miners for profits they hardly make in their farming.
Cocoa farmers have also lamented that they are being cheated by authorities overseeing cocoa production in the country. According to them, the price tag on their produce is below the true value. These issues have also compelled cocoa farmers to resort to other means of making reasonable profits on their labour, which has been in the form of smuggling to neighbour countries, thereby dipping production rate in the country itself.
Source: Dehotpress
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