Some cocoa farmers in the Eastern Region are threatening to embark on a demonstration to register their displeasure over the sale of cocoa farm lands to rubber plantation investors by their land owners.<\/p>\n
The President of Concerned Farmers Association of Ghana Nana, Oboadie Bonsu alleged that over two thousand acres of cocoa farms have so far been destroyed to pave way for the cultivation of rubber, thus their apprehension and intended action.<\/p>\n
He spoke to Citi News<\/strong> on the trend which he describes as unfortunate and a threat to their survival.<\/p>\n “They are lying to the farmers that cocoa is no more profitable. Rubber is more profitable than cocoa. We the concerned farmers are originally grassroots farmers who investigate; we are all over the country monitoring the cocoa in this country. There is no way government is going to get 1 million because cocoa plants are being destroyed. They are destroying cocoa plants each and every day.The demonstration is going to affect this country and it will tarnish the image of the President and it is not a small demonstration.”<\/p>\n NPP gov’t cheating cocoa farmers – Minority\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Last week, the Minority in Parliament accused government of offering cocoa farmers a terrible deal with its decision not increase the cocoa producer price due to a fall in world market prices.<\/p>\n The minority argued that, government must utilize the cocoa stabilization fund established by the previous government, to cushion farmers instead of the insensitive approach the COCOBOD intends to use.<\/p>\n Minority spokesperson on Agric and Cocoa Affairs, Eric Opoku had said the decision not to increase the price was not based on concrete consultation.<\/p>\n \u201cWe wish to state that, the Chief Executive officer of COCOBOD is not clothed with the mandate to determine the producer price of cocoa for farmers. It is the duty of the producer price review committee to determine producer price of cocoa taking into consideration several factors including the economic conditions prevailing in the country, in order not to inflict untold hardships on our farmers. We are therefore urging the CEO of COCOBOD to allow the committee established in 1984 which has since discharged its duties effectively and efficiently, to continue its work without any form of usurpation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Erick Opoku further noted that, the erstwhile Mahama government established a Cocoa Stabilization Fund with annual contributions \u201cas a risk mitigation mechanism against declines in international cocoa prices.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe primary objective of the stabilization fund was to apply it to sustain the earnings of cocoa farmers and to cushion them, should the market price begin to decline. The recent decline in the price of cocoa internationally must therefore trigger the use of the stabilization fund to put smiles on the faces of our farmers.<\/p>\n He also said the NPP had replaced a promising Cocoa fertilization programme the Mahama government introduced and is thus ripping off cocoa farmers.<\/p>\n \u201cSurprisingly, the NPP government on assumption of office has replaced the free fertilization programme with a programme under which farmers pay (GHc80) for a bag of fertilizer. This is unacceptable, we cannot sit aloof for the government to cheat our cocoa farmers.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUnder the free fertilization programme, the cocoa farmer was entitled to 7.5 bags of granular fertilizer per every hectare of cocoa farm. So a farmer who has 100 hectares of cocoa farm was given 750 bags of fertilizer free of charge. Today under President Akufo-Addo\/Bawumia government, the same farmer is to pay (GHc60,000) for the same 750 bags of fertilizer. This has exposed the Ghanaian cocoa farmer to intolerable levels of penury. We are therefore urging the NPP government to be sensitive to the plight of the Ghanaian cocoa farmer by halting the sale of the fertilizer and revert to the NDC\u2019s free fertilization programme for the 2016\/2017 cocoa season,\u201d Eric Opoku added.<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n By: Marian Ansah\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Some cocoa farmers in the Eastern Region are threatening to embark on a demonstration to register their displeasure over the sale of cocoa farm lands to rubber plantation investors by their land owners. The President of Concerned Farmers Association of Ghana Nana, Oboadie Bonsu alleged that over two thousand acres of cocoa farms have so […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10,11],"tags":[228,1059,3],"yoast_head":"\n