Cocoa farmers are in arms against the Nana Addo led government as a result of the government’s indecisive actions regarding Cocoa prices in the country, threatening to trade Ghana’s major foreign earner – cocoa with galamsey.
In the wake of agitations, cocoa farmers in the Prestea-Huni-Valley Municipality of the Western Region, have cautioned the government to immediately increase the price of cocoa, or they will continue to sell their cocoa farms for galamsey activities.
According to the farmers, the current cocoa price is a disincentive to farming, and that the government’s withdrawal of free cocoa farm inputs has made it difficult for them to purchase adequate inputs for their farms.
The farmers noted that they are now reliant on major mining companies like Gold Fields Ghana to provide them with free farm inputs. The farmers, meanwhile, lamented that the Western Region is gradually losing its position as a major cocoa-producing region due to government’s inaction leading to the intensification of illegal small-scale gold mining activities.
The region’s new status as a hub for galamsey activities is threatening the growth of the cocoa industry, as many farmers find the cocoa business unattractive due to the low price of cocoa compared to selling their cocoa farms to galamsey operators.
Farmers from the Damang Cocoa District in the galamsey-endemic area of Prestea-Huni-Valley Municipality made this known when they gathered in Damang to receive free fertilizers and pesticides from the Gold Fields Ghana Foundation.
They stressed that the threat of galamsey to cocoa is due to the low price of cocoa and the government’s switch from free to subsidized cocoa farm input delivery to farmers.
Cocoa Prices Increase
Meanwhile, data from the Bank of Ghana has revealed that cocoa prices increased by $384.51 per tonne which is 15.2% in the first four months of 2023.
In December 2022, prices were pegged at $2,539.86 per tonne which rose to $2,924.37 per tonne in April 2023, up by 15.2% year-to-date and 13.0% on year-on-year terms.
According to the Central Bank, this feat was driven by lower production volumes, higher grinding in top-grower Ivory Coast, and increased global demand.
BoG added in the first four months of 2023, cocoa beans exports rose by 30.3% to $950.8 million, largely on the back of the increased volume of exports.
In the global scene, the cocoa market has experienced a remarkable surge in prices. The International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) reported that cocoa prices at halfway mark of the year (2022- 23) of cocoa futures were broadly higher year-on-year.
In its Cocoa Market Report for March 2023, the ICCO said over October 2022 to March 2023, the front-month cocoa futures prices averaged US$2,440 per tonne, up by 6% compared to US$2,304 per tonne recorded a year earlier in London. At the same time in New York, prices of the nearby cocoa futures remained flat at US$2,560 per tonne during the first semester of 2022-23, merely up by 0.4% from US$2,550 per tonne recorded during the first semester of the 2021-22 cocoa season.
With price of cocoa on the rise, it is imperative on the government to increase its prices to appreciable level to incentivize cocoa farmers to produce more.
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