INSENSITIVE AKUFO ADDO SHORTCHANGED COCOA FARMERS ON NEW PRICES – Mahama

The president made this announcement at Tepa in the Ashanti Region during the opening of the 2023/2024 cocoa season.

However, the former president, who thinks otherwise, in a statement said it is a total rip-off as cocoa farmers will remain worse off than they were seven (7) years ago under the National Democratic Congress government.

“The Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/NPP government has once again shortchanged Ghanaian cocoa farmers. The announced increment in the farmgate price of cocoa to GH₵1,308 is a total rip-off as cocoa farmers will continue to remain worse off than they were seven (7) years ago under the NDC/Mahama government. The Spot Price of cocoa on the international market has surged to a record high of about $3,600 per metric ton as of 31st August 2023. This price is the highest since 1977- that is, in the last 46 years,” the flagbearer of the NDC said.

He further slammed the government for being ‘insensitive and wicked’ to the plight of Ghanaian cocoa farmers.

“This means that the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government is retaining a whopping GH₵1,516 while giving the poor cocoa farmer only GH₵1,308 per bag of cocoa. This reality further highlights the insensitivity and wickedness of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government which has dealt a raw deal to cocoa farmers since coming into office.

“The evidence points to the fact that the Akufo-Addo administration has the worst record in terms of increases in cocoa prices in Ghana as they are the first government in the history of the Fourth Republic which refused to increase the farmgate price of cocoa for three consecutive seasons – 2019/2022, 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 cocoa seasons”.

He insisted that the government should have given the cocoa farmer 65% of the international F.O.B price as promised in the 2023 mid-year budget review statement.

“Given the fact that this government failed to increase the farmgate price for all these years despite high inflation, we hold the view that this government should have given the cocoa farmer at least 65% of the international F.O.B price as they promised in the 2023 mid-year budget review statement,” he pointed out.