Damang — Cocoa farmers should expect an increase in producer prices, this October season, Head of COCOBOD's Public Affairs Department, Mr Stephen Fiifi Boafo, has assured.
He stressed "Happily, prices today on world market are still increasing and you will certainly hear from us in October and cocoa farmers will smile. We look forward for good times."
Mr Boafo gave the assurance when he responded to requests at Damang in the Prestea-Huni Valley municipality in the Western Region on Thursday, when 240 cocoa farmers received fertilisers and pesticides, as part of Gold Fields Ghana Foundation (GFGF) Cocoa Support Programme.
He, however, could not state the margin of the increase. Presently, a 64 kg bag of cocoa fetches about GH¢800.
Mr Boafo explained cocoa prices were dictated on the world market, but said, efforts were being made to ensure arrangements facilitated 'good' prices for farmers.
He further stated that, COCOBOD could not deny farmers their fair share if prices were favourable.
On galamsey, he reiterated that, the menace had devastating socio-economic consequences on the future livelihoods of cocoa farmers in the country.
Mr Boafo said, illegal miners robbed farmers of their lifetime earnings and legacies that could be left to the next generations.
He said, though perpetrators of illegal mining made juicy promises that lured cocoa farmers to give away their cocoa farms, "these innocent farmers have ended up being impoverished with nothing to depend on upon retirement."
The Head of Public Affairs, therefore, appealed to cocoa farmers to resist any attempt by illegal miners to convince them to sell off their lands which eventually deprived them of their lifetime investments.
Mr Boafo, reminded farmers about the several measures government in collaboration with Ghana Cocoa Board and the National Pension Regulatory Authority (NPRA), was implementing to better the lives of cocoa farmers, especially in retirement.
"The introduction of the Cocoa Farmers Pension Scheme is meant to secure your future and provide you with a decent means of livelihood when you retire.
"As with other pension schemes, your monthly earnings will depend on your contributions, meaning, if you sell off your cocoa farms for illegal mining activities, you are denying yourself and future generations the opportunity to earn decent livelihoods," he added.
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Mr Boafo told farmers that, apart from the Pension Scheme, COCOBOD was also implementing interventions like the cocoa mass spraying, cocoa rehabilitation, pruning, hand pollination and highly subsidised fertilisers to support farmers.
These programmes, he said, came with a huge cost to government, hence the need to safeguard the future of the cocoa industry by eradicating illegal mining.
He thanked GFGF for the Cocoa Farmers Support Programme and urged other mining companies to emulate the gesture.
Mr Boafo noted that, over the years, both mining and cocoa production had co-existed peacefully, until the upsurge of activities of illegal mining.
He believed the Gold Fields Ghana Foundation example testified that responsible mining could go a long way to help improve our ecosystem and support other environmental activities, including farming.
