Member of Parliament for Asunafo Constituency and the Ranking Member on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs committee of parliament Eric Opoku has accused the Akufo-Addo’s administration of scheming to shortchange cocoa farmers in the country.
According to the NDC MP, the government is planning to extort 422 million cedis of monies belonging to cocoa farmers in the country.
The former Brong-Ahafo Deputy Regional Minister said Ghana and neighboring Cote d’Ivoire’s Agreement to set a minimum price for cocoa at the world market has led to an increase in the price of cocoa by $400 per tons of cocoa at the world market. This, he said, should translate into an increase of 142 cedis per bag of cocoa for farmers in the country.
Mr. Eric Opoku, however, alleged that a publication by Bloomberg indicates government will only adjust cocoa price locally by 110 cedis per bag. He added that the planned increment will be a shortchange of Cocoa farmers by 33 cedis per bag and a total amount of 422 million cedis per the projected 800, 000 tons of cocoa for the 2020/2021 cocoa season.
“Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire have implemented the price mechanism policy and Cocoa price at world market has seen an increase by $400 equivalent to 2,280 cedis if we are to go by government’s exchange rate projection of 5.7 cedis in the budget. This means a bag of cocoa must be increased by 142 cedis. But Bloomberg has published that government is going to increase Cocoa price by 110 cedis per bag. It means government is cheating the farmers by 33 cedis per bag of cocoa. If you multiply by the projected 800, 000 tons, it means government is taking 422 million cedis of Cocoa farmers’ monies,” he stated.
The ranking Member of parliament’s Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs Committee who was speaking at a Town Hall meeting held in Kumasi on the party’s 2020 manifesto said the next NDC government should they win the 2020 elections will ensure that the money is retrieved and given back to the farmers.
In 2017, the government of Ghana and the government of Cote D’Ivoire began negotiation for a fixed producer price for cocoa at the world market. The negotiation between the two biggest producers of cocoa in the world concluded with an agreement to stipulate an amount of $2,600 as the fixed minimum price for cocoa at the world market. The stipulated minimum price, according to the CEO of COCOBOD Joseph Boahen Aiddo, will take effect in the 2020/2021 cocoa season.
