Ghana: Cocoa Farmers to Enjoy

The Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Hon. Kwadwo Baah Wiredu, has noted that as part of government's initiative to make life easy and enjoyable for cocoa farmers to give off their best to improve the nation's economy, it would maintain its policy of increasing the cocoa farmer's share of the net FOB price as a reward for their continuous hard work, and contribution to the development of the economy.
He said it was in this regard that President John Agyekum Kufuor, at the just ended COPAL Cocoa Day Declaration last Monday at Bibiani, announced an increment in the price of cocoa by 4% for the coming season. That meant, cocoa farmers would enjoy ¢ 9,500,000 per metric tonne instead of the current ¢9,150,000 per metric tonne.


He added that cocoa farmers would as well enjoy payment of bonuses to help facilitate their activities. At a round table conference towards a 'Sustainable World Economy' in Accra yesterday, Hon. Baah Wiredu emphasised, `Cocoa, over the years, continues to generate more and more dividends economically and nutritionally for all persons in the cocoa chain, hence the need to work for its sustainability.`

The International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO), he mentioned had done a lot of work towards cocoa sustainability, including the coordination and rationalisation of production policies and programmes of cocoa producing countries, the improvement of knowledge available on cocoa resources in producing countries, the compilation of an inventory on the health and nutritional values of cocoa and chocolate and the generic promotion of cocoa and chocolate consumption in emerging markets.

He explained that the concept of sustainability encompasses social, economic and environmental dimensions in both production and consumption. Mr. Wiredu said, as part of government's initiative aimed at achieving sustainability in the cocoa sector, it had instituted a number of measures, including increasing remuneration of farmers, adopting diseases and pests programmes under which cocoa farms in all six cocoa producing regions of Ghana would be treated against Capsid and Black Pod diseases. They would also adopt responsible production methods through good agronomic practices, provision of high-yielding and disease-resistant planting materials, reducing post harvest losses and committing resources to the eliminate the worst forms of child labour on cocoa farms.

Another initiative would be the tarring of roads in cocoa-rowing areas to facilitate the efficient evacuation of cocoa, for which he said, US $50million has been earmarked for the start of the programme, which covers approximately 531 Kilometers of roads. The government would also start a programme to provide decent accommodation for cocoa farmers in their areas of operation, and promote value addition through research and development in the cocoa processing business to ensure that the potentials of the `Golden Pod` are fully utilised. The establishment of cocoa processing factories so as to reach a 50% processing capacity and the promotion of the production of cocoa by-products, using cocoa waste and sub-standard beans would also be encouraged.

In his welcome address, the Chief Executive Officer of the Cocoaboard, Mr. Isaac Osei, noted that the question of sustainability was quite serious in the country, and that was why in its effort to increase production, the country had mounted a strategy on yield-enhancing schemes to increase farmers' income, efficiency in logistics and enhancement of quality assurance systems.

He added that Accra, immediately after the round table conference, would again play host to the 70th General Assembly and Council of Ministerial Meeting of the Cocoa Producers' Alliance (COPAL) from the 8th to the 12th of October, this year.

Source: http://allafrica.com