Government cannot fight galamsey with abysmal cocoa price – Twifo Nsuakyi Chief

Nana Yaw Anobah I, chief of Twifo Nsuakyi in the Twifo- Atti-Morkwa District of the Central Region has appealed to government to increase the producer price of cocoa to help discourage farmers from selling their farms to illegal miners.

According to him, the current cocoa price is not attractive enough to motivate farmers to continue investing in cocoa production, particularly at a time when the government was seeking to intensify the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.

Nana Yaw Anobah said the government must make cocoa farming more profitable by increasing the price of cocoa to stop some farmers from selling their cocoa farms to illegal miners due to financial difficulties.

He also expressed concern about the distribution of government support inputs to cocoa farmers, including agrochemicals, fertilisers and motorised spraying machines, alleging that some farmers were not receiving these inputs from district agricultural offices.

A cocoa buyer, Mr Ebenezer Danso, described the recent increase in the cocoa price as inadequate, saying many cocoa farmers were dissatisfied with the situation.

He appealed to the government to consider increasing the price to at least GH¢3,000 per bag, arguing that cocoa farmers were facing numerous challenges in their farming communities

Madam Yaa Yeboah, a cocoa farmer highlighted the challenges they faced in cocoa production, including high cost of labour and called for greater government support.

GNA