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By Isaac Arkoh, RNG
Assin-Fosu (C / R), March 22, GNA – Scores of
farmers in the North District of Assin and the Central Municipality of Assin
The Central Region appealed to the Ghana Cocoa Council (COCOBOD) to tackle the
growing activities of cocoa purchasing clerks.
They described this practice as a deterrent
cocoa cultivation and warned marketing agents to stop exploiting farmers through
handling the scales to their advantage.
In an interview with the RNG, Mr.
Samuel Oduro, a cocoa farmer who spoke on behalf of farmers, said "this
is a criminal offense for employees to handle scales, with the
intention to mislead poor farmers ".
"We want to call on the supervision
COCOBOD and the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) to keep up their efforts
efforts to apprehend any employee who indulges in such an unacceptable
practice."
"It's unfortunate that unregistered brokers
support procurement staff in the most remote villages to adjust their
illegally, "he said.
Similarly, other grain producers led by Mr. Kwame
Nyarko also called for the application of weights and measures for sale.
cereals, a situation they described as a major challenge for small farmers
farmers to get fair prices for their products.
"A major challenge for small farmers
Here we get fair prices for our products. We sell our corn using the
"Bush weight" system where sacks of corn weighing between 130 and 150 kg
are sold for the value of a 100 kg bag, depriving farmers of the
kilos. "
"Buyers often benefit by demanding
their bags are filled to the brim instead of paying in weight ", the
the farmers noted.
Similarly, the irritated farmers also called the
government to prioritize the construction of roads in the region to enable them
transport their products to urban centers and marketing as the recent torrential
The rains in their regions have aggravated the terrible nature of the roads, leaving many
food and cocoa beans in the villages.
Some seriously affected roads include:
Adiembra-Dompim, Senchem, Brofoyedru-Akropong-Odumasi Junction, Dominase, Fish
Routes of the city of Odumasi, Akonfudi, Endwa and Assin.
They said that cocoa farming is the mainstay of
indigenous people in the municipality, but farmers find it difficult to transport their
cocoa and other farm produce, resulting in drivers charging exorbitant tariffs
allow them to maintain their vehicles that often break down.
"The recent torrential rains have made the
impbadable roads cutting many farmers from major markets,
where they sell their goods and agricultural products ", Mr. Theophilos Togba,
Spokesman of the aggrieved farmers, said.
The situation, they said, has forced many
farmers, especially young people, to abandon their farms and migrate to cities.
GNA
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