Some cocoa farmers from cocoa-producing border districts and civil society groups have engaged in a fruitful dialogue with Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod) over concerns about cocoa smuggling.
The stakeholders discussed how to work more closely to stamp out cocoa smuggling in Ghana, understanding its negative implications for the national economy.
The dialogue, at the instance by the Ghana Civil-society Cocoa Platform (GCCP), sought to create an avenue for dispassionate discussions and the crafting of solutions to the emerging challenge of smuggling confronting the West African country’s cocoa sector.
The interaction had become necessary following a recent decision by Cocobod to temporarily suspend its free cocoa spraying intervention in the Elubo Cocoa District over allegations of farmers’ involvement in massive cocoa smuggling to neighbouring Cote d’Ivoire.
Although the Board would withdraw the action in a matter of days, the leadership of the Elubo cocoa farmers had in reaction announced at a press conference their intention to reject all Cocobod support and extension services.
Co-convenor of GCCP, Obed Owusu-Addai, opening the discussions at Cocoa House, the head office of Cocobod, explained that civil society actors in the Ghanaian cocoa space were concerned about the simmering tension and its potential impact on the entire cocoa sector.
He said the group, therefore, decided to seek an audience with the regulator alongside a cross-section of affected farmers to jointly explore workable solutions.
“We are convinced that engaging with Cocobod management together with the farmers to dispassionately discuss the issues could help find a lasting solution to nip the challenge in the bud,” asserted Mr Owusu-Addai.
Explaining the rationale behind the now-withdrawn directive, the Chief Executive of Cocobod, Joseph Boahen Aidoo, said the action was informed by intelligence pointing to some farmers’ complicity in the alarming cocoa smuggling incidence
He expressed disappointment about the failure of farmers to report the culprits to the authorities for appropriate action.
Mr Aidoo cited the example of the Volta Region where crop output had declined from 5000 metric tonnes the previous season to 800 metric tonnes the same period this season.
He said the farmers that management held them in high esteem and appreciated their contribution to sustaining the economy of Ghana.
“Cocoa is the oxygen that powers the Ghanaian economy thus without the contribution of cocoa farmers the economy could crash. Farmers mean a lot to Cocobod and the government,” he assured.
He added that all Cocobod policies and interventions are designed with the supreme interest of cocoa farmers at heart and thus naturally expected their cooperation.
Ghana does forward sales of its cocoa crop well ahead of harvest which sales contracts are used in contracting syndicated loans to purchase from cocoa farmers.
He regretted if the country for whatever reasons fail to deliver the cocoa in fulfilment of the sales contracts will result in a default or incurring debt
promised to raise the issue of the alleged complicity of security personnel in the smuggling cartel with the appropriate authorities for urgent redress
conceded the unprecedented deterioration of the Cedi last year chiefly contributed to the lower farmgate price received by Ghanaian cocoa farmers compared to the previous year and the emergence of smuggling because the farmgate price in Ghana has always been higher than that in neighbouring countries
He explained due to the shortfall in last year’s production the Board couldn’t raise the funds to pay for agro-inputs supplied to farmers, adding to Cocobod’s indebtedness.
argued that although the weather this cocoa year has been quite favourable, production figures from key districts over the period October to February have been below the annual average
Projected production for the period was 900,000 metric tonnes
During that period last year production stood at 420,000 by February ending, 200,000MT shy of the average projection of 600,000MT a situation which has never happened
This year started on a good note, such that cocoa purchases clocked the 500,000MT mark by December a sign that created optimism for a return to winning ways by February
However, by February purchases stood at a disappointing record of 550,000MT
Average weekly purchases of 30,000MT declined to 1,000MT this year
In the height of last year’s drought, Volta Region produced 5,000MT but rather shockingly they could only manage 800MT this year in spite of the massive rainfall enjoyed across the country.
that raised the red flag that there could be a fishy development
argued that during the same period, non-border districts have been recording a 24% – 28% increase in production over the same period last year indicating
the board has received video reports from Western South, for instance, where bags of cocoa were being transported across the River Tano into Cote d’Ivoire
It is scary and quite precarious that Cocobod may not be able to mobilise enough cocoa to redeem sales contracts abroad, a situation that threatens to sink the Board deeper into debt and compromising its very existence
“Now the stark reality is that we aren’t getting the cocoa to redeem our contracts. We are about to default”
“He pleaded with the cocoa farmers and the civil society front to help arrest the worrying trend of smuggling as it represented an existential threat to the entire economy of Ghana”
Urged farmers to be mindful of the interventions and investments made by the government of Ghana into the cocoa from subsidised fertilizer, free supply of agrochemicals, seedlings, jute bags, spraying, hand pollination, extensions services, and cocoa roads, among others which other countries do not provide for their farmers
The painful decision to suspend the input supply was informed by comparative data over the last two years, which revealed unusual production shortfalls in the border districts
implications of a collapsed cocoa industry would surely affect the government and Cocobod, and would also mean a collapse in the livelihoods of the over 800,000 cocoa farming families and the millions more employed along the cocoa value chain, therefore it behoved every patriotic Ghanaian to join the fight against cocoa smuggling and not only see it as the responsibility of Cocobod
he entreated the farmers to volunteer information about persons suspected to be involved in smuggling directly to the anti-smuggling taskforce of Cocobod for prompt action
He feared if Ghana failed to mobilise enough cocoa to redeem contracts….a situation portends gloom for the credibility of Cocobod on the international and to financiers
He solicited the cooperation of farmers and civil society in the fight against smuggling, assuring that any staff of Cocobod found to be culpable in the heinous activity would face summary dismissal and criminal prosecution
He was optimistic of a prosperous season next year on the back of the stabilising Cedi, promising international market price for cocoa and favourable weather
Farmers:
Solomon Kwadwo Kusi, the 2020 national best cocoa farmer, pledged the full cooperation of cocoa farmers to identify and fish the culprits perpetrating smuggling. He, however, disputed the allegation that farmers are complicit, insisting various tip-offs shared with authorities in the past had not been acted upon hence the apathy.
He alleged that the smuggling cartel involved some licensed buying companies (LBCs) and their purchasing clerks and district officers in connivance with some security operatives.
He said many of the most prolific cocoa-growing communities in the Jomoro District, like Alebo, Kotinase, Aleh, have no access roads for evacuating their produce to cocoa buying sheds, thus must convey them by canoe on the Tano River to Elubo. He noted that whereas the Ivorians have 350KM of access road by the River Tano the Ghanaian side couldn’t boast of a single kilometre of road leaving the River as the only means of transportation for the those communities.
Incessant calls and appeals to the government, Cocobod and Roads Ministry have all be fruitless.
This has made them subject to harassment by Ivorian rebels who constantly rob them at gunpoint of several hundreds bags of cocoa in transit
He pointed to some exit points for the smugglers including Alanda Wharf in the Jomoro District
He argued that the price of a bag of cocoa in Togo stood at the equivalent of GHS1,500 whereas the same bag sold for GHS1,300 in Cote d’Ivoire compared to GHS800 in Ghana, and therefore appealed to the government and Cocobod to reconsider the farmgate price as a measure of curbing smuggling.
The Deputy Country Director of SEND Ghana, Dr Emmanuel Ayifah, commended the management of Cocobod for opening its door to the cocoa farmers and the Ghana Civil-society Cocoa Platform to the fruitful forum.
Dr Ayifah recommended for consideration the institution of a quarterly forum between Cocobod and the Ghana Civil-society Cocoa Platform to deliberate on key issues and foster cooperation in the interest of all stakeholders.
Among the farmer-based organisations in attendance were cocoa farmer cooperatives from Jomoro, Bonsu Nkwanta, Dadieso, Juaboso and the Bia Districts.
Member organisations of Ghana Civil-society Cocoa Platform present were SEND Ghana, Ecocare Ghana, Trust Africa, Tropenbos and Cocoa Post.