Farmers demand an increase in cocoa prices – Report

News from Saturday, June 8, 2019

Source: Myjoyonline.com

2019-06-08

Cocoa farmers have asked the government to raise cocoa production prices by October 2019.

They argued that the price of cocoa for production was insufficient and had deteriorated their economic well-being.

This report was included in a research report entitled "Producer price and income badessment of cocoa producers", launched yesterday in Accra, aimed at identifying the main players in the cocoa sector involved in the determination and pricing of cocoa. cocoa production.

The findings of the report indicate that farmers have played relatively little role in determining and setting local producer prices, with government and COCOBOD being key determinants of local producer prices.

The report, initiated by SEND GHANA in partnership with INKOTA, a German NGO and Rainforest Alliance (Ghana), covered 90 farmers from 220 farmland in Agona East District, Central Region.

The principal investigator, Professor Kwabena Asomanin Anaman, who presented the report, said that the price at cocoa production has not increased since October 2016.

He stated that the majority of cocoa producers reported that their economic welfare had deteriorated significantly due to the stability of local production prices for the 2017 and 2018 production years respectively.

Professor Anaman noted that the off-farm income activities of cocoa farmers reported an average annual income of about 1,165? Compared with the average annual gross income from cocoa farming of 3,493 GH and 982 GH for non-agricultural and forestry enterprises.

"Non-farm income accounted for about one-third of total gross cocoa revenue and was therefore an important risk management strategy for cocoa farmers, a source of additional revenue," he added.

According to the principal researcher, the results also revealed that farmers who owned and directly managed their cocoa farms tended to undertake fewer income diversification activities and focus more on managing their cocoa.

To address this, he stressed the need for COCOBOD to increase public awareness of the processes involved in setting local producer prices.

"This public education could involve more meetings with farmers through their district and regional representatives before the announcement of official cocoa prices in the first week of October of each year," he said. Professor Anaman.

He added that it was important for COCOBOD and its badociated agencies to ensure a fair distribution of resources and services to all cocoa producers.

SEND GHANA Country Director, George Osei-Akoto Baffour, said that a pricing mechanism involving cocoa farmers would allow them to influence the process and help them get enough resources in terms of income generated by their cocoa production.