President of the concerned Cocoa Farmers Association, Nana Boateng Bonsu said the government should let them know if the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) was no longer in operation.
According to him, knowing the fate of COCOBOD will help farmers make an informed decision of selling their products directly to buyers.
“Farmers will rake more revenue should they engage buyers directly rather than relying on government to negotiate the prices on their behalf” he said.
Speaking on JoyNews’s PM Express on Monday October 23,2023 Mr Bonsu said, “if they know COCOBOD has collapsed we should know so that cocoa farmers can directly sell their products go buyers to make our money rather than relying on government because the government has nothing to offer the farmers”.
He further noted that some farmers were cutting down their cocoa trees and shifting to the cultivation of different crops to make money.
“Right now, alot of farmers are cutti g down their cocoa trees and shifting to the cultivation of different crops all because they have realised that they have been enslaved for so many years” President of the concerned Cocoa Farmers Association stated.
He further accused COCOBOD for not listening to the plight of farmers, neither were their concerns addressed.
He also added that there was no dialogue between farmers and COCOBOD.
“COCOBOD has put wax in their ears and are not listening to the farmers. There’s nothing happening on the ground. There’s no dialogue between farmers and COCOBOD. Anything that comes from them(COCOBOD) and they think is beneficial to them or us, they just implement.
There’s nothing like an engagement or let’s sit and talk with the farmers since they are those on the ground to know what they want” he opined.
