The Minority Caucus in Parliament has called on the government to set a deserving and fair producer price for cocoa farmers in the country.
According to Dr Isaac Yaw Opoku, a Ranking Member on the Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs Committee: “the minority caucus is concerned about the continuous deception of the government on cocoa pricing issues”.
“We demand that our farmers are paid fair producer price when the new crop season opens in August,” Dr Opoku, also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Offinso South, stated when he addressed cocoa farmers at Akrodie in the Asunafo North Municipality of the Ahafo Region.
Dr Opoku explained that the Caucus was in the area to interact with the cocoa farmers, identify and help tackle emerging challenges confronting them.
He said it was unfortunate that President John Dramani Mahama had failed to fulfil his Election 2024 campaign promise to set the cocoa price atGH¢6,000 per bag of 64 kilograms, though his National Democratic Congress (NDC) campaign strongly against the then New Patriotic Party (NPP) government for pegging the price at GH¢3,100.
Dr Opoku said, “Sadly, seven months into the NDC administration, not even one pesewa has been added to the producer price of cocoa”.
He said the NPP was sensitive to the plight of cocoa farmers due to the immense contributions of the cocoa sector toward economic growth and development, saying successive NPP administrations introduced several “monumental policies” to enhance the socio-economic livelihoods of cocoa farmers.
Some of the cocoa farmers also expressed their disappointments and frustrations in the government for failing to peg the price of a bag of cocoa at GHC6,000 as promised in the 2024 Electioneering.
