By Boakye Stephen, Kumasi, Ghana | Reporting for Ghanaian News, Canada
A senior member of Ghana’s Minority caucus has raised concerns that the government may be preparing to reduce the cocoa producer price again, a move he warns could further worsen the economic situation of cocoa farmers across the country.
Dr. Isaac Yaw Opoku, Member of Parliament for Offinso South and Ranking Member of Parliament’s Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs Committee, made the claim during an engagement with cocoa farmers in the Bosome Freho District. The meeting formed part of the Minority’s ongoing tour of cocoa-growing communities in the Ashanti Region.
According to the lawmaker, information available to the Minority suggests that authorities could soon announce another reduction in the cocoa producer price.
“The government is planning to announce another cocoa price cut. I am calling on all farmers to stand up against this unfair treatment,” he told farmers during the interaction.
The warning comes after the recent reduction in cocoa producer price by 28.6 percent, bringing the price down from GH¢3,625 to GH¢2,587 per bag, a change that Dr. Opoku says has already placed enormous financial pressure on farmers.
He argued that a further reduction could have devastating consequences for rural economies that rely heavily on cocoa production.
Dr. Opoku also revisited the long-standing political debate over the management of Ghana’s cocoa sector. He stated that when the previous NPP administration assumed power, the cocoa sector had inherited debts estimated at GH¢19 billion from the earlier NDC government led by John Mahama.
According to him, the Akufo-Addo administration used borrowed funds to rehabilitate 70,000 hectares of cocoa farms, whereas he claims the debts left by the previous administration did not reflect productive investment.
He therefore urged cocoa farmers to disregard claims suggesting that the current challenges in the cocoa sector are solely due to legacy debts.
