The Member of Parliament for Offinso South Constituency and Ranking Member for the Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs Committee, Dr. Isaac Yaw Opoku, claims the government is planning another cocoa price cut.
He is therefore urging cocoa farmers to organize an urgent protest to prevent the move.
Dr. Opoku made the call during an engagement with cocoa farmers in the Bosome Freho District as part of the Minority caucus’ tour of cocoa-growing communities in the Ashanti Region.
According to the lawmaker, intelligence gathered suggests that authorities could further lower the current cocoa producer price, a development he believes would worsen the plight of farmers across cocoa-growing communities.
He said that the recent 28.6% reduction in the producer price from GH¢3,625 to GH¢2,587 per bag has already hurt farmers badly, and another reduction would be a total disaster for them.
“The government is planning to announce another cocoa price cut. I am calling on all farmers to stand up against this unfair treatment,” he said.
Dr. Isaac Yaw Opoku also stated that when Akufo-Addo’s administration came to power, the previous NDC government under John Mahama had left GH¢19 billion in debts in the cocoa sector.
Despite this debt, he claims the NDC failed to improve the cocoa sector for the benefit of farmers and Ghana.
Dr. Opoku noted that the debts under President Akufo-Addo’s government were invested in rehabilitating 70,000 hectares of cocoa farms, while the NDC’s legacy debts showed no record of productive use.
He urged cocoa farmers to ignore claims by the NDC that the recent cocoa price reduction is due to debts left by the previous government.
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com