Cocoa farmers are pleading with the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to increase the producer price of cocoa beans in the coming 2020/21 season by a significant margin.
This plea to COCOCBOD by farmers they say, is as a result of the surge in the cost of production in recent times. According to the farmers, the general standard of living amongst them is deteriorating and therefore it’s imperative for COCOBOD to grant a cocoa price increase so as to help transform the lives of poor farmers.
They believe that when this plea is heard, more youth will be attracted to join cocoa farming and support aging farmers’ population since it will be a lucrative venture.
In the 2019/2020 cocoa season, COCOBOD increased cocoa producer price for a bag (64kg) from GH¢475 to GH¢515, representing 8.42 percent adjustment. However, this time, the farmers are asking for a significant increase, pegging their demand at nothing less than GH¢700/64kg.
Chemical Cost
The 2019 National Cocoa Best Farmer, Ernest Sarkodie at Sankore in the Ahafo Region, in an interview pushed that COCOBOD should price cocoa between GH¢700 and GH¢900.
“Cost of inputs such as insecticides and pesticides have soared significantly. We need more money to buy the required quantities to supplement supplies from government in controlling pests and diseases. If COCOBOD can cushion the price to between GH¢700 and GH¢900, we’ll appreciate it”.
Mr. Sulley Mustapha, a farmer at Wamfie in the Dormaa East district of the Bono Region also stated that the prices of fertilisers have spiked so it will be a good thing if COCOBOD increases the prices of cocoa ahead of the coming season.
“In the last twelve months, the price of liquid fertiliser per gallon has jumped from GH¢120 to GH¢150; the price of a cutlass used to be GH¢19, but now it hovers around GH¢23-GH¢25. Besides, the cost of transportation has also surged; and therefore, it is economically wise for COCOBOD to respond with a price increase commensurate with the rising cost of production.”
Rising Cost of Labour
The 2019 Best Regional (Ahafo, Bono and Bono East) Cocoa Farmer, Philip Appiah Boakye, at Akrodie in the Ahafo Region indicated that acquiring labour in recent times hence adding to production cost.
“Scarcity of labour has pushed his cost higher. Cost of labour keeps rising year-on-year-on; farm labourers have increased their daily wages from GH¢40 to GH¢50 to GH¢60. Easy access to farm labourers within our locality is for the highest bidders”.
He expressed concern that the escalating cost of labour could push some farmers to revert to using weedicides for controlling weeds.
He admittedly noted that use of weedicides on cocoa farms poses a serious threat to the country’s cocoa industry, and urged authorities to find pragmatic measures to address the challenge in order to discourage their use.
Motorised Slashers and Pruners
COCOBOD acquired and distributed about 100,000 pieces of dual-purpose motorized slashers and pruners to cocoa farmers across the cocoa regions.
The equipment’s introduction is to help phase-out the labour-intensive use of machetes for weeding and pruning on cocoa farms.
