More than 19,000 hectares of cocoa farmlands in the Western, Ashanti and Eastern regions have been destroyed by illegal small-scale mining activities, known as galamsey.
The over 19,000 hectares of cocoa farmlands lost to galamsey resulted from sampled study – and it is estimated the figure could go higher if a full-scale study is conducted.
Affected regions
The sampled study was carried out in Western, Western North, Ashanti, Eastern and Central regions.
This was disclosed by the Board Chairman of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Peter Mac Manu, during a meeting with the management of the Ghana Minerals Commission to discuss the impact of illegal mining on cocoa.
Impact of galamsey on the fertility of topsoil
Mr Mac Manu said as a result of illegal mining, cocoa production had reduced and the fertility of the topsoil also keeps reducing as illegal mining activities go deeper into the soil without any geological investigation.
“We are aware that some farms have been degraded for galamsey. We cannot sit in COCOBOD and find solutions to them. Equally, you may not know the havoc galamsey is wreaking on the cocoa industry, which has continued to be the mainstay of the economy of this country. Are we going to sit aloof and watch the cocoa industry die? No. Certainly, the Minerals Commission will not approve of that,” he said.
Mr Mac Manu called on all stakeholders to meet to find solutions to the challenge to avert its impact on impoverished farmers and the negative repercussions on the Ghanaian economy.
“There is the need to jaw-jaw and find common solutions to the problems. In the Western North, Western, Ashanti and Eastern regions, many of the farmers have been devastated by the activities of galamsey. People’s income are being wiped off, so we need to pay a critical look at it,” he underscored.
The Board Chairperson of the Minerals Commission, Barbara Oteng Gyasi, also at the ‘Cocoa-Galamsey Talk’, said they would formalise galamsey activities into the Community Mining Scheme to move people engaged in illegal mining into the formal small-scale mining to reduce the adverse effect of galamsey on the land.
She noted that many youth who previously engaged in cocoa production were now going into mining, causing some cocoa farmers to sell off their farmlands for mining activities.
“This is a problem. Therefore, moving them into the Community Mining Scheme will help minimise the impact,” Mrs Oteng Gyasi stated.
She noted that because mining takes place underground and cocoa production occurs above the ground, it was necessary to come up with right measures to prevent total destruction of the fertile lands.
“We are committed to undertaking geological investigation to reduce haphazard mining while preserving our lands,” she disclosed.
Mrs Oteng Gyasi added that they would also provide funding and get appropriate technology to ensure that their operations are monitored.
“We will stay committed to this project and ensure that at the end of the day, both COCOBOD and the Minerals Commission execute their mandate accordingly,” she added.
