You have entered an incorrect email address! The Chief Executive Officer of the COCOBOD, Dr Stephen Kwabena Opuni, has embarked on a working visit to cocoa-growing areas in the Ashanti Region to … They hide behind supposed authorisation from chiefs and family heads to bully farmers as well as water down the demands during negotiations. Ghana and the cocoa marketing dilemma: What has liberalisation without price competition achieved? All Rights Reserved. Sources say they [sand winners] pay as low as GH¢3,000 as compensation for an acre of destroyed cocoa farm. The report indicted the Minerals Commission for slacking, thus fueling the activities of illegal sand winning across the country. The Western and the Western North Regions, which has a population of about 2.4 million, are the highest producers of cocoa in the country contributing to over 50 percent of the total national production. In 1983 farmers were provided with seedlings to replace trees lost in the drought and trees more than thirty years old (about one-fourth of the total number of trees in 1984). Formerly, produce buying clerks had often held back cash payments, abused funds, and paid farmers with false checks. In the rural areas, most adults are farmers and have plantation farms which provide them with an income. Afigya-Sekyere District, AGONA . [20] Furthermore, the government tried to increase Ghana's productivity from 300 kilograms per hectare to compete with Southeast Asian productivity of almost 1,000 kilograms per hectare. Read More. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Although Ghana was the world's largest cocoa producer in the early 1960s, by the early 1980s production had dwindled almost to the point of insignificance. [7], All cocoa, except that which is smuggled out of the country, is sold at fixed prices to the Cocoa Marketing Board. [14] A new payment system known as the Akuafo Check System was introduced in 1982 at the point of purchase of dried beans. According to the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 and the Environmental Assessment Regulations, the maximum duration for the issuance of a license is about 11 months, however, the report gathered that in practice, it takes over two years to acquire a license. "Cocoa has a poverty problem. [22] After 14 years, the successes and failures of this hybrid system have been the subject of a study by researchers at the Overseas Development Institute. Between 1988 and 2007, over 2.3 million hectares of rainforest in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana were cleared for cocoa farms. The region is divided into 27 districts, each headed by a District Chief Executive. [9][10] However, international attempts to improve conditions for children were failing because of persistent poverty, absence of schools, increasing world cocoa demand, more intensive farming of cocoa, and continued exploitation of child labor. [12][13], The government shifted responsibility for crop transport to the private sector. ... In all, the Akyeamehene of Manso Nkwanta, Nana Kwabena Asare also known as Nana Awuku Sista emerged the overall best farmer 2020. Adansi South District, NEW EDUBIAASE . We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. That puts them well below the World Bank’s new $1.90 per day standard for extreme poverty, even if you factor in the 13% rise in the price of cocoa last year. Another observation made by the report and believed to be influencing the menace was the cumbersome procedure and the duration within which a prospective sand winner has to go through to secure a licence to operate. [21] Cocoa has a long production cycle, far longer than many other tropical crops, and new hybrid varieties need over five years to come into production, and a further 10 to 15 years for the tree to reach its full bearing potential. Revised figures show that production amounted to 301,000 tons in 1988-89, 293,000 tons in 1990-91, and 305,000 tons in 1992-93. In 2017, a parliamentary report revealed that 85 percent of sand winners in the country operate illegally. He said this at a mini rally at Mankranso, capital of the Ahafo Ano South West District in the Ashanti Region, as part of his six-day campaign tour of the Ashanti Region. The destroyed farms have been left with scar-like ponds and the likes. 'He pauses, taking in his own thought for a moment. The Cocoa and Forests Initiative is an agreement reached between the governments of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, and over thirty-seven major cocoa and chocolate companies. A major study of the issue in 2016, published in Fortune Magazine in the U.S., concluded that approximately 2.1 million children in various countries of West Africa "still do the dangerous and physically taxing work of harvesting cocoa". Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. A community member at Tunkumso near Effiduase who spoke to the B&FT on condition of anonymity blamed traditional authorities for doing very little to discourage the incessant activities of sand winning. Subsidies for production inputs (fertilizers, insecticides, fungicides, and equipment) were removed, and there was a measure of privatization of the processing sector through at least one joint venture. 'And there, you really need leadership. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. These steps include forest protection and restoration, sustainable cocoa production with an emphasis on the livelihood of farmers, and a system of social inclusion and community engagement.[25]. The reasons for this huge production increase are varied and in fact Ghana's cocoa yields per hectare are still low by international standards. Political parties have been advised to infuse a renewable off-taker strategy in their manifestoes to demonstrate how they intend to incentivize citizens to adopt... President Akufo-Addo has announced a seven-day national mourning in memory of the late Former President, Jerry John Rawlings. Inrecent years, the production of Cocoa in Ghana has increased tremendously due to the fact that, the government has provided the agricultural industry in Ghana with incentives which has boosted the interest of young adults to expand their farms and plant more cocoa.

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