The recent smuggling of cocoa beans to neighboring countries by Ghanaian farmers has attracted debate in Ghana's Parliament. Whilst the majority side in Parliament strongly sided with government's intervention to improve on the living conditions of cocoa farmers by increasing cocoa producer price by 71.06%, those on the minority believe that the intervention was a mere rhetoric.

Hon. Ernest Akobuor Debrah, former Food and Agriculture Minister and Member of Parliament for Tano North has called on government to consider increasing cocoa producer price to reflect that of the current market price to provide relief to farmers.

This, he said, if achieved will forestall the smuggling of cocoa beans to neighbouring countries for better prices and also which tend to improve on the living conditions of the people of the neighbouring countries.

The former Food and Agriculture Minister was speaking in Parliament to contribute to a statement made by Dr. Alhassan Yakubu Ahmed, Chairman of Parliamentary Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and Cocoa Affairs, on the celebrations of the 25th National Farmers Day.

"There is massive smuggling of cocoa beans along our border towns. We must look at the plight of the farmer. The government should increase cocoa prices to avert the anormally", he noted.

Earlier on Monday, Mr. Debrah, in contributing to the debate on the budget estimate of the government of Ghana for 2010 fiscal year noted that the government was rather paying cocoa farmers 49% of the current cocoa producer price.

Almost a month ago, the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) has received a barrage of criticisms from the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) in what it described as "throwing dust into the eyes of Ghanaians", when the former announced an upward adjustment of the cocoa prices in the country to reflect that on the international market.

Members of the opposition NPP had earlier contended that the new price of GH¢2.208 per metric tonne, at the exchange rate of GH¢1.50 per US dollar, meant that the new producer price was equivalent to US$1,472 - indicating that the figure only represented US$28 or 1.9 percent more than equivalent US dollar value the previous year.

But government officials have insisted that the current FOB price to cocoa farmers was the best the government could afford to pay since it represents the highest price paid in the history of the country.

Mr. Allen Mike Hammah, MP for Effutu, in associating himself with the statement noted that in achieving the best for the country in food production, farmers must add value to their produce.

He enumerated a number of problems which if corrected, would improve the agricultural sector of the country towards food security.

Among the problems he mentioned were; land tenure systems which he said needed to be improved, post-harvest loss, marketing and road accessibility and unavailability of farm labour. He tasked Ghanaians to use the 'Farmers Day' celebration to focus on specific farming areas to improve on the agriculture sector of the country.

Another area of importance highlighted by some MPs was the provision of an Agriculture Training Institute to give free training in modern farming skills and the introduction of grading and weight systems, in marketing the farm produce. This year's National Farmers Day will be held in Tamale.