SEND Ghana holds two-day conference to discuss living income and human rights issues in Ghana’s cocoa sector

SEND Ghana on Thursday, November 10, successfully finished a conference on living income and human rights issues in Ghana’s cocoa sector after bringing together various stakeholders.

The two-day Conference started on Wednesday, November 9, in Accra, at the AH Hotel.

The conference was organised in partnership with SEND Ghana’s German partners; INKOTA and SUDWIND.

The conference assembled key stakeholders to discuss issues bothering on living income and human rights matters as a catalyst for ensuring improved welfare of cocoa farmers as well as increasing government and private sector responsiveness for a sustained cocoa sector.

The overall outcome of the conference is expected to contribute to strengthening multi-Actor partnerships to push for the development and implementation of new and innovative strategies to improve the living conditions of cocoa farming families and their communities.

Speaking on the opening day of SEND Ghana’s Conference On Living Income and Human Rights In Ghana's Cocoa Sector, Mr. Siapha Kamara stressed that it is important stakeholders critically look at the poor cocoa buying price which has subjected cocoa farmers in Ghana to poor living conditions.

He noted that the purpose of his outfit’s two-day conference is not only to highlight the various ways in which the cocoa sector is abusing the rights, especially of children and women but also to bring to the fore that cocoa buyers are equally violating the rights of cocoa farmers by buying cocoa at very poor prices.

“The purpose is to highlight the various ways in which the cocoa sector is abusing the rights, especially of children and women but more importantly to highlight that the poor prices being paid by the buyers of Cocoa lie at the heart of human right violation. That is the main message,” Mr. Siapha Kamara stressed.

The SEND Ghana CEO who also oversees the West Africa region further explained, “Unless the buyers that are buying our Cocoa can pay better prices to the farmers the question of human rights, the will question of the destruction of forest and use of child labour and the abuse of women will continue.”

SEND Ghana CEO Mr. Siapha Kamara

He also stressed that at SEND Ghana, they believe cocoa farmers should not be living but should be doing very for themselves for the important work they do to produce cocoa.

“We believe that farmers should not just be living. They should be thriving. That should be the goal and that is why we prioritize two things. The first is that the buyers should pay better prices. Domestically we are also saying that Ghana is a democracy so farmers in the cocoa sector should be encouraged and supported by COCOBOD to self organizes. There should be freedom to organize. We are encouraging the cocoa farmers to have an independent voice,” he indicated.

On her part, Mrs. Tawiah Agyarko-Kwarteng, Technical Manager of the Cote D'Ivoire Ghana Cocoa Initiative (CIGHCI) admitted that there is a lot of work to be done for cocoa farmers to earn a good income.

As a result, she called on Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and private partners with the interest of cocoa farmers at heart to help advocate to change their living standards.

“We will need the expertise of many to achieve our strategic vision of an Economic Pact for Sustainable Cocoa and ultimately, deliver on higher prices for the farmers on the pathway to a living income.

“We urge you all, as civil society, and indeed the private sector partners here today to look critically at the part you play in the value chain and ensure that we all are driving action that delivers impact for the farmer,” Mrs. Tawiah Agyarko-Kwarteng said while delivering a speech on behalf of Mr. Alex Assanvo, the Executive Secretary of the Cote d’Ivoire Ghana Cocoa Initiative.

She disclosed in her address that CIGHCI has 3 other working groups that it will be setting up on Accountability and Monitoring, Traceability and Standards, and the Costs of Sustainable cocoa production and costs of transition, all geared towards getting the best for the cocoa farmer.

Mrs. Tawiah Agyarko-Kwarteng stressed that the cocoa sector must be able to offer a remunerative price, a fair and just price for the farmers who are at the start of the value chain, to enable them to have a living income.

At the conference as a special guest, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Abirem in the Eastern Region, Hon. John Osei Frimpong gave the assurance that the government is working to ensure the living standards of cocoa farmers in the country are significantly improved.

He hence urged cocoa farmers to desist from giving out their farms to illegal miners for galamsey activities.

“They [cocoa farmers] should take stock of what has transpired over the years from their great grandmothers to their time. Whatever the galamseyers are offering is just a lump sum. Once that is exhausted that is when they will see the reality. They should hold onto their cocoa farms, the government will come in to support them so that their living standards will also improve. The hardships are there but they should not rush,” Hon. John Osei Frimpong advised.

A recent report released by the German platform for sustainable Cocoa, (GISCO) which comprises 67 members including CSOs and governments, etc. noted that on average, the premium on cocoa ranged from 133 dollars per metric tonnes in Cote D’Ivoire and $183 per metric tonnes in Ghana.

However, premiums are being paid on only about 50 percent of cocoa purchased in the two countries.

Although Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire alone contribute to about 60 percent of the world’s cocoa production, inadequate funds stay in the countries, leading to poor living standards for cocoa farmers, the main players in the value chain.

As a result, the Cote d’Ivoire Ghana Cocoa Initiative has called for an average Free On Board (FOB) price of about 70 percent which translates into $1,820 per metric tonne to the farmer as the two countries push for the welfare of cocoa farmers with the help of other stakeholders including SEND Ghana.