Federated Commodities Limited (FEDCO), a Ghanaian licensed cocoa buying company has presented a cheque for GHS16 million (about $1.4m) as a premium to certified cocoa farmers for the 2022/2023 crop season at Assin Foso in the Central Region.
The premium is to encourage the farmers to work hard towards increasing production and also adopt best farming practices. It forms part of the company’s corporate social responsibility.
As part of the disbursement, each farmer from selected cocoa districts would receive GH¢50 ($4.3) as a bonus for each bag of cocoa beans sold.
However, cocoa farmers from Asankragua and Samreboi would receive GH¢64 per bag as a premium.
The company paid 30 per cent of the amount due each cocoa farmer through mobile money transactions, while the 70 per cent would be done through cash payment.
Managing Director of FEDCo, Maria Adamu-Zibo, made this known at the official premium announcement at Assin Fosu in the Central Region.
She indicated that the company together with its partners since 2012, had disbursed GH¢150 million in a number of communities on projects and cash premiums.
“This year alone, we have supplied 20,000 MT of sustainable beans to our clients and trained over 27,000 farmers,” she said.
The company, Adamu-Zibo indicated, had embarked on several projects including the supply of shade trees, farm inputs and tricycles to some communities, saying, “We have also piloted farmer training in soap making, grass cutter rearing and demonstration plots.”
She also called on the government and stakeholders to create an enabling environment for the growth of the cocoa sector.
“The youth need to see farming as a business opportunity, where they can choose to farm or engage in auxiliary services such as labour support, inputs supply, alternative cocoa farming methods, organic cocoa, cocoa processing and transformation,” she stated.
She admonished cocoa farmers to adopt good agricultural practices and also protect the soils from degradation.
Head of Sustainability at FEDCO, Nuruddin Essilfie, indicated that the company had embarked on other sustainability programmes such as afforestation, accessible soil and sustainable environment projects, child labour monitoring projects, and tricycle projects.
He expressed worry about farmers leasing their land for illegal mining activities, and therefore, called on the government to put in more efforts in the fight against illegal mining as their action was negatively affecting the cocoa sector.