President of the Concerned Cocoa Farmers Association, Nana Boateng Bonsu, has urged the government to clarify the status of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD).
Bonsu emphasizes that this information is crucial for farmers to decide whether to sell their products directly to buyers.
He believes that direct engagement with buyers could yield higher revenues for farmers, rather than relying on government negotiations.
During an interview on JoyNews’ PM Express on October 23, 2023, Mr. Bonsu stated, “If they know COCOBOD has collapsed, we should know so that cocoa farmers can sell their products directly to the buyer to make our money rather than relying on the government because the government has nothing better to offer the farmers.”
Additionally, he highlighted that certain farmers are opting to uproot their cocoa trees and transition to cultivating alternative crops in pursuit of increased earnings.
“Right now, a lot of farmers are cutting down their cocoa trees and shifting to different crops all because they’ve realised that they have been enslaved for so many years,” President of Concerned Cocoa Farmers Association stated.
He also criticized COCOBOD for failing to heed farmers’ concerns and not engaging in any meaningful dialogue with them.
“Cocobod has put wax in their ears and are not listening to the farmers. There’s nothing happening on the ground. There is no dialogue between farmers and Cocobod. Anything that comes to them [Cocobod] and they think it is beneficial to them or us, they just implement. There is nothing like an engagement or ‘let’s sit down with the farmers since they are those on the ground and see what they want’,” he opined.