The Member of Parliament for Offinso South and Ranking Member on Parliament’s Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs Committee, Dr. Isaac Yaw Opoku, has alleged that the government is planning another reduction in the cocoa producer price.
He has therefore urged cocoa farmers to organise an urgent protest to prevent the move.
Dr. Opoku made the call during an engagement with cocoa farmers in the Bosome Freho District as part of the Minority Caucus’ tour of cocoa-growing communities in the Ashanti Region.
According to the lawmaker, intelligence gathered suggests that authorities may further reduce the current cocoa producer price, a development he believes would worsen the plight of farmers across cocoa-growing communities.
He said the recent 28.6 percent reduction in the producer price from GH¢3,625 to GH¢2,587 per bag has already dealt a heavy blow to farmers, warning that another cut would be disastrous.
“The government is planning to announce another cocoa price cut. I am calling on all farmers to stand up against this unfair treatment,” he said.
Dr. Opoku also stated that when Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s administration assumed office, the previous National Democratic Congress (NDC) government under John Dramani Mahama had left debts of GH¢19 billion in the cocoa sector.
Despite this debt, he claimed the NDC failed to improve the cocoa sector for the benefit of farmers and the country.
Dr. Opoku added that debts accumulated under President Akufo-Addo’s government were invested in rehabilitating 70,000 hectares of cocoa farms, while the NDC’s legacy debts showed no record of productive use.
He therefore urged cocoa farmers to disregard claims by the NDC that the recent cocoa price reduction is due to debts left by the previous government.
