Licensed Cocoa Buyers in the Berekum Municipality of the Bono Region have appealed to the government to expedite action for the payment of cocoa farmers to ease looming tensions and persistent threats from farmers in the area.
They expressed worry that the delays in paying the cocoa farmers was causing misunderstanding between them and the farmers, saying the increasing agitation of the aggrieved farmers in the area could lead to something else.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview at Berekum, Elder George Owusu, the spokesperson of the Association noted that many of the farmers had already confronted some of the buyers for their money putting their lives in danger.
“The threats we received from the farmers are becoming too much and something ought to be done to salvage the situation”, he stated.
Elder Owusu said personally he supplied 100 bags of cocoa beans to Olam Cocoa Ghana Limited, however he had not received any payment for the farmers since last year.
“We constantly hear reports that the government has released funds to the Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs), but we haven’t seen a penny.
This is putting pressure on us and our families because the farmers think we are withholding their monies”, he explained.
Elder Owusu said some of the farmers continued transporting their beans from distant communities to the buying centers and “We can’t turn them away after they have travelled such long distances”.
“So, what we often do is that we collect the beans and explain the situation to them, however they keep on visiting our offices every day to check on their money”, he stated.
In another interview, Mr Amankona Diawuo, a cocoa farmer expressed their frustrations and urged the government to pay the farmers, worrying that most of the cocoa farmers were unable to cater for their family needs.
He said: “What we know is that we have sold our beans and we need our money now. We can’t afford to wait any longer and the government must do the needful for us to also cater for the needs of our family as they are also doing”.
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com