A deepening wave of frustration is sweeping through Ghana’s cocoa-growing communities, as political leaders warn farmers against taking irreversible decisions that could jeopardise both their livelihoods and the future of the country’s cocoa industry, such as giving up their land for galamsey.
Isaac Yaw Opoku, the Minority spokesman on agriculture and MP for Offinso South, has appealed to aggrieved cocoa farmers not to cut down their cocoa trees or sell their farms to illegal miners, commonly known as galamsey operators, despite mounting anger over falling producer prices.
Addressing members of the community at Asunsu No 1 in Dormaa Central (Bono Region) during the ongoing nationwide Minority Caucus engagement with cocoa farmers, Opoku described such reactions as dangerous and short-sighted.
“Do not allow anger to push you into destroying your cocoa farms or handing them over to illegal miners. These farms are your future and your heritage,” he urged.
Valentine’s price slash
The appeal follows a controversial reduction in the cocoa producer price from GHC3,600 to GHC2,587 per 64-kilogram bag, following an emergency cabinet meeting in February led by President John Dramani Mahama and attended by the chief executive of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD). That move sparked widespread dissatisfaction among farmers and has led some to consider leasing or selling their land to galamsey miners.
Dr Opoku expressed confidence that a future administration led by Mahamudu Bawumia and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) would, if elected in 2028, restore favourable pricing and improve conditions for cocoa farmers.
He also issued a strong warning to the government not to make any further reductions in the cocoa producer price and signalled that the Minority Caucus is ready to escalate its response.
“Any further reduction will be fiercely resisted. We are prepared to stand shoulder to shoulder with farmers, even if it means staging a naked demonstration,” Opoku said.
Unbearable
Reinforcing the challenge, the Minority Chief Whip and MP for Nsawam Adoagyiri, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, questioned the practicality of key 2024 election campaign promises made by the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) to cocoa farmers.
He cited pledges including a farmgate price of GHC6,000 per bag and provision of mechanised boreholes on all cocoa farms, noting that such commitments remain largely unrealised.
“There are no mechanised boreholes on the ground, and the price has rather been reduced from GHC3,100 to GHC2,500. Even more worrying, some farmers say they have not been paid for their produce,” Annoh-Dompreh said.
The situation is becoming increasingly unbearable for farmers. Many who took part in the cocoa engagement voiced their frustration over delayed payments for beans already sold, coupled with declining producer prices which threaten their survival. Pressure to give over their land for galamsey mining has mounted steadily since the start of the current cocoa season.
“We are struggling to survive,” one farmer lamented. “We have sold our cocoa, yet payments are delayed, and prices keep falling. Government must act now, or we will be forced to respond,” he said.
As tension continues to mount across the cocoa belt, developments highlight the fragile intersection of policy, politics and rural livelihoods. The impasse raises critical questions about the sustainability of Ghana’s cocoa industry and points to the urgent need for responsive leadership.
Source: asaaseradio.com
