President John Dramani Mahama has encouraged the leadership of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to welcome innovation by adopting modern technology and best agronomic practices to enhance yields without expanding farm sizes.
The First Gentleman of the Land also reiterated the need to move beyond traditional farming methods to ensure increased productivity and sustainability in the cocoa sector. He made these comments when the CEO of COCOBOD, Dr. Ransford Anertey Abbey, led members of the Cocoa, Coffee & Sheanut Farmers Association (COCOSHE) to pay a courtesy visit on him at the Jubilee House in Accra.
President Mahama expressed gratitude to the farmers for their continued pragmatic investments, which have sustained the cocoa, coffee, and shea sectors.
Addressing financial challenges in the cocoa sector, President Mahama acknowledged that COCOBOD is burdened with significant debts accrued over the years.
However, he expressed hope that the GHe32 billion debt could be managed through fiscal discipline under the new leadership.
On issues of environmental protection, President Mahama underscored the need for legal measures to safeguard cocoa farms from destruction.
“We will pass laws to protect cocoa trees and ensure they are not cut down for mining. This way, we will improve the sector and save the environment,” president Mahama said.
He also stressed that preserving cocoa farmlands is crucial for the sustainability of the industry and the well-being of future generations, pledging to revamp the cocoa sector, which is plagued by challenges such as illegal mining, smuggling, and inadequate input supply for farmers.
Additionally, he also mentioned that, plans are being made to diversify the sector, revealing that Ghana and Colombia are in discussions about collaborating on coffee production.
He also expressed confidence in ongoing negotiations with Sahel states to lift the ban on shea fruit exports for processing — an initiative that could significantly augment Ghana’s annual production, currently at about 70,000 metric tonnes.
In a speech read on his behalf, Alhaji Alhassan Bukari, the National President of COCOSHE, highlighted the importance of the shea sector, which, like cocoa, contributes to foreign revenue generation.
However, he lamented the adverse effects of the collapse of the Buipe Shea Processing Plant, which has led to job losses.
Alhaji Bukari expressed confidence in President Mahama’s commitment to revamping the Buipe Shea Factory so that it can play its rightful role in Ghana’s economy.
He emphasised COCOSHE’s call for the government to prioritise farmers’ welfare as an incentive to boost production.
He also urged the government to implement stringent measures to curb cocoa smuggling, which is detrimental to Ghana’s foreign exchange earnings.
“Ghana is losing significant volumes of cocoa to this illicit activity, benefiting our neighbours by increasing their production levels while reducing ours. Illegal mining is also encroaching on the lands of our cocoa farmers, leaving many of them helpless,” he lamented.
