The General Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU) has issued a warning that Ghana risks losing its status as the world’s second-largest cocoa producer if urgent action is not taken to protect cocoa farms from illegal mining activities.
This caution follows Ghana Cocoa Board CEO Joseph Boahen Aidoo’s revelation that the organization had to refund $250 million acquired from the African Development Bank for irrigation purposes in cocoa farms due to water contamination in farming areas.
Ghana, renowned for producing premium cocoa beans, currently holds the position as the world’s second-largest cocoa producer after Ivory Coast. However, GAWU’s General Secretary, Edward Kareweh, highlighted that other countries are aggressively developing sustainable environmental practices to surpass Ghana in cocoa production.
Kareweh further noted that increasing levels of water pollution in farming areas are leading more farmers to abandon their farms, posing a significant threat to Ghana’s cocoa production.
“It’s no more lucrative to be in cocoa production. There are many factors which are real. Even the cocoa farmers who are patriotic and insist that they will not sell their farms and stay with their farms are forced to sell them out”.
He revealed that illegal miners are forcibly taking over cocoa farms for mining activities while the government appears unconcerned.
Mr. Kareweh stated that contaminated water bodies are being diverted to cocoa farms, leading to the destruction of the plants.
“The illegal miners will flood your farms with all the dirty water and will take your farm by force. You cannot even enter the farm again. It is so pathetic and heartbreaking that we can sit down and allow such a monumental criminal act to continue. This crime is against generations to come”.
Expressing distress, Mr. Kareweh emphasized that it is only a matter of time before Ghana loses its production capacity and longstanding reputation as the producer of premium cocoa beans.