A cocoa farmer in the Ahafo region of Ghana, Joseph Donkor, has alleged that cocoa farmers are unable to access insecticides provided to them by the government.
Explaining why this is so, he noted that the authorities who are responsible for distributing the insecticides after the government has provided it, often hoard the products while the cocoa farmers struggle.
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He made this known in an interview with Happy FM’s Don Prah on the ‘Epa Hoa Daben’ show.
“The products needed for the cocoa farming business are very expensive and usually government comes with the insecticides but when these insecticides are given to authorities who are to distribute them, these insecticides don’t get to us. They keep these drugs and allow us to suffer. This also applies to the petrol we use for our farms. Now that petrol prices have increased, we are suffering”.
The cocoa farmer with over thirty-five years’ experience shared also that farmers do not benefit from loan schemes and this does not help them to grow the farming business as they would wish. “We don’t receive any loans. For example, we know ADB was specifically put in place to assist farmers but if you go there for a loan, you will be denied a loan”, he added.
The cocoa sector faces a number of challenges. A large portion of cocoa farmers are affected by poverty, and child labour remains a prevailing issue. In addition, cocoa is often produced at the expense of the environment.
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Most of the cocoa farming families live in extreme poverty. In Ghana for instance, it is estimated that the income gap is about 50% of the living income benchmark value with cocoa production contributing to about two thirds of farmers’ income.
By: Alberta Dorcas N D Armah