Cocoa farmers have made a passionate appeal to the government to consider the high cost of living in the country and offer them 80% of the world cocoa price for the year.
According to the farmers, it is imperative for the government and COCOBOD to consider the factors that have pushed the cost of living higher before announcing the 2020 cocoa price.
The farmers argued that today even sachet water has increased along with the prices of many other essential goods in addition to high inflation, high cost of maintaining cocoa farms, the dangerous threats of illegal mining to cocoa farms, depreciation of the and smuggling of Ghana cocoa to Cote d’Ivoire.
A release issued by Boafo Ne Nyame Cocoa Farmers Cooperative of Akyem Premkese argued the government recently accepted to pay CoLA of 15% to public sector workers and though cocoa farmers were not included in this payment, they shop in the same markets as these government workers.
They stressed, however, that the cocoa they produce will be sold for foreign exchange to support the economy of the entire populace.
“Increasing cocoa price is not a favour from the government to the farmers but is our right. Something that is our legitimate right. We produce the cocoa and the government buys it at a percentage from us and go sell it and gets profit from it.”
“Again farmers buy cocoa inputs to maintain their farms and the cost of these inputs has gone up high Price of goods have gone up astronomically, transport fares are high, and cost of labour incurred in the maintenance of our cocoa farms has tripled.”
“Cocoa inputs such insecticide, pesticides, liquid fertilizers etc have doubled. Although Cocoa Board supports farmers with inputs such as those mentioned it is not enough. Farmers have to do more to maintain their farms,” the release said.
According to the cocoa farmers before the global financial crisis weeding an acre of the cocoa farm was between GH¢100 and GH¢150 but now it costs GH¢300 with the price of a labourer also increasing to GH¢50 per day.
They lamented that many cocoa farmers have begun selling their farms to illegal miners while others are converting the cocoa farms to rubber and oil palm plantations.
The government and COCOBOD, the farmers stressed, should do something urgently to salvage the cocoa industry.
The farmers stated that last year there wasn’t any increment but in 2020 COCOBOD paid 70% FOB (Free on Board) of $3000 to farmers and urged the government to increase the percentage to 80% this year or in the worse case, maintain the 70% to farmers this year.
They indicated per an agreement signed by Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire with international cocoa buyers, a bag of cocoa price ranges between GH¢1,443.75 to GH¢1,650 depending on the percentage the government/COCOBOD decides to pay to farmers.
“We the Cocoa Farmers Cooperatives, Ghana, are calling on Government to consider the factors we have mentioned and act accordingly.”
“Government should not look at the economic hardship it is going through and cheat the farmers. Government should sympathize with the farmers and pay them their due price,” the cocoa farmers appealed.