Workers of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) urge the government and relevant authorities to prosecute illegal miners.
These workers highlight that the miners have extensively damaged lands in cocoa-growing regions across the country.
They assert that this activity severely disrupts cocoa production and results in the loss of millions of dollars in revenue annually for the nation.
Edward Ampofo, the Workers’ Representative on the Board of Directors at Cocobod, expresses concern that failure to adequately address the issue could lead to a record low in cocoa production outputs.
“The issue of the cocoa industry is becoming bleak as a result of the issue of activities of this galamsey,” he said.
Mr. Ampofo recounted the recent acquisition of a $600 million facility aimed at rehabilitating approximately 600,000 hectares of farmland impacted by swollen shoot diseases.
He explained that following a successful program, illegal miners vandalized the land in search of mineral resources, undermining the progress achieved.
“Galamsey people went back and uprooted the cocoa that we had replanted… this cocoa that we have paid compensation to farmers to replant,” he added.