Cocoa farmers at Onaa in the Juaben Municipality of Ashanti region are calling for government’s intervention to halt the cutting down of their cocoa trees for a real estate project.
According to them, hundreds of hectares of cocoa farms have been demarcated with pillars to be destroyed for the construction project.
One of the affected farmers, Yaw Thomas, who owns thirty-five acres of cocoa farm, said the Onaa community is the second largest cocoa producing community in the Ashanti region.
“Government and COCOBOD should base on the Economic Plant Protection Act 1979 to intervene and stop the alledged private developer from cutting down our cocoa trees for real estate redevelop,” he said.
He said the farmers inherited their farmlands from their forefathers and have farmed for over four hundred years in the area.
The farmers are surprised at the turn of events to clear their trees.
“Onaa is a total village community; what income will you gain for constructing real estate in this bush. The government needs to come in because this is our source of livelihood,” Thomas stated.
The President of Concerned Cocoa Farmers Association in Ghana, Nana obodie Boateng Bonsu II, visited the community to access the situation.
He called on the government to urgently deployed a taskforce to beef up security and prevent the destruction of cocoa farms.
“Cocoa had been declining and challenging for Ghana COCOBOD due to galamsey activities, why should we allowed hectares of cocoa trees to be cut down in the second largest cocoa producing area in the Ashanti region? He quizzed. “No it won’t happen.”
According to him, the Parliament of Ghana should strengthen laws protecting the cocoa tree from indiscriminate cutting.
“We the concerned cocoa farmers won’t allow this to happen. I am looking for the so-called private developer to deal with him with the law,” he said.
Source: Joseph Obeng