In the Atwima Nwabiagya South Municipality of the Ashanti Region, the livelihoods of cocoa farmers are under imminent threat as a foreign-owned gold mining firm, MIGOP Mining Limited, conducts exploration activities.
This poses a significant risk to over 400 acres of cocoa farms, spanning five cocoa-growing communities in the area.
These farms, which have recently undergone rehabilitation by the Ghana Cocoa Board to combat the Cocoa Swollen Shot Virus Disease outbreak, are now facing destruction due to the encroachment of the mining firm.
The affected communities, including Apuoyem, Brahebebome, Brosanko, Ouagadougou, and Nkotonmire, stand to suffer considerable economic losses.
According to Ghana COCOBOD, the monetary value of cocoa produced by these communities exceeds GH¢316,000, highlighting the significant impact of the mining activities on the local economy.
Expressing concern over the situation, Head of the anti-illegal mining Units at COCOBOD, Professor Michael Kwarteng, condemned the actions of MIGOP Mining Limited.
“Yesterday I received a call from the executive director of the cocoa health and extension division that there is this mining company, MIGOP Mining Limited. They’ve come to this our cocoa district. To them, they’ve been given license to do prospecting and they’ve destroyed a lot of our cocoa farms. Farmers have been preventing them but they are using security personnel to intimidate them and then going ahead with their activities. So when I received this I said no, I can’t sit down for even a day.
“Looking at what is happening, the evidence is there. They’ve destroyed some of the cocoa farms. COCOBOD we are not aware of what is going on. I always say whenever you are securing any concession, you have to contact the regulator of that production, being cocoa, or whatever.
“Meanwhile when you go to the minerals commission, the Mining Acts 703 sections 18(1)(2), it tells you that mining companies are supposed to contact bodies that regulate that farm. So they are violating that aspect of their own law. So, mining companies are taking advantage of this and are destroying our farms everywhere,” he stated.
He pointed out instances of cocoa farm destruction and intimidation of farmers by security personnel deployed by the mining company.
In response, MIGOP Mining Limited claims to have obtained permits from the Minerals Commission to conduct exploration in the area.
However, they acknowledge the inadvertent destruction of some cocoa farms during the exploration process.
The Community Relations Officer for MIGOP Mining Limited, Richard Gyasi, assured that affected farmers are being compensated for their losses. He emphasizes that the company is currently in the exploration phase and refutes claims of widespread crop destruction.
Despite these assurances, concerns persist regarding the long-term implications of mining activities on cocoa production and the livelihoods of affected communities.
The clash between mining interests and agricultural sustainability underscores the delicate balance between economic development and environmental conservation.
“We are only doing exploration so we are not destroying any crop. Even though at least one or two crops have been affected we are using the government rate to pay them. For now, we are in the exploration stage, we will now move to the development stage before we start the mining. So, we are not destroying crops as it has been portrayed,” he stated.