Motivating Cocoa Farmers

The government last week announced a new producer price for cocoa as part of incentives to sustain the interest of farmers and motivate the youth to go into cocoa production.

The decision to increase the producer price was in spite of the global fall in cocoa prices and, as stated by the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr Kwabena Duffuor, it was “to further emphasise the importance of the non-oil sector, especially agriculture and for that matter cocoa, which has been the backbone of the country’s economy”.

Prior to that, the government, for the first time in the history of the country, had announced a floor price for shea-nut as part of efforts to improve the lot of shea-nut pickers and farmers and develop a profitable shea-nut business.

Until recently, only aged farmers were left to attend to cocoa farms because of the lack of incentives in cocoa production in particular and agriculture in general. This lack of incentives made the smuggling of cocoa beans to neighbouring countries very attractive because of the high prices offered there.

However, the introduction of the cocoa mass spraying programme, the payment of bonuses, the launch of a housing scheme for cocoa farmers, with a pension scheme in the offing, have made the cocoa industry an attractive industry for the youth.

Although we take note of concerns over the latest price adjustments, farmers are enjoined to give of their best, so that the country can achieve its target of becoming the leading producer of cocoa in the world.

In the 1970s, Ghana was the leading producer and exporter of the crop in the world, until economic difficulties and bush fires in 1983 devastated the industry. We have since come a long way and the things expected of the stakeholders include sustained efforts to recapture the position as the leading exporter of the crop in the world and also maintain cocoa as the mainstay of the economy.

The announcement of a floor price for the shea-nut industry is well intentioned to support shea-nut pickers in the three northern regions where shea-nut is the mainstay of the local economy.

Shea-nut farmers in the three northern regions went through terrible times in the past, including non-recognition and suffering from snake bites. These were the times when snake serum was a scarce commodity and many people died when they were bitten by snakes because there was no serum to treat them.

The Daily Graphic believes that the attention being focused on the cocoa and shea-nut industries will not only boost the economy but also stimulate the local economy of the areas where the crops are grown.

The government can do its best to resuscitate the national economy, but the boom can only reflect on the people if producers are encouraged to do more to improve their personal incomes and living standards.

That is why we commend the government for increasing the producer price of cocoa and announcing a floor price for the shea-nut industry.

We believe these measures should encourage the youth, especially those seeking non-existent white-collar jobs, to move into the agricultural sector where they tend not only to benefit personally but also help put the national economy on a sound footing.