The announcement of a decrease in the cocoa producer price from GHC 51,660 per tonne to GHC 41,392 has led the Parliament’s Minority Caucus to accuse the administration of undervaluing growers.
As a result, the caucus has called on the government to drop Dr Randy Abbey, the COCOBOD CEO, and take on the financial strains in the cocoa industry instead of transferring them to farmers.
Additionally, before the new drop was announced, the producer price was GHC 51,660 per tonne, and the government was urged to return it to that level.
Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Karaga, told reporters during a press conference yesterday that the Minority expected the government to bail out COCOBOD rather than lower farmer prices, particularly at a time when it claimed the economy was doing better.
“An economy that is better managed cannot pay cocoa farmers and reduces the producer price of cocoa. And so Ghanaians can see the narrative that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) brought to them about the previous NPP government as having badly managed the economy,” Dr. Adam stated.
He maintained that the government’s inability to carry out the COCOBOD turnaround plan, which was created in conjunction with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and left over from the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration, was the root cause of the current cocoa sector problem.
Dr. Adam pointed out that “I heard that the Minister of Finance is directing to move the cost of cocoa roads to the Ministry of Roads and Highways. This measure was in the turnaround strategy that we handed over to the NDC government.”
He added that the sector’s problems were caused in part by the lack of laws establishing a transparent pricing strategy, the inability to lower cost items and procurement prices, and the delays in putting changes into place.
He asserted that since the previous administration had already implemented the required reforms before to its departure, the NDC government did not need to unveil a new restructuring plan.
Additionally, Dr. Adam said that the government’s “over valuation” of the economy had hampered domestic production of products and services and export competitiveness, especially cocoa exports on the international market.
Mr. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the MP for Ofoase Ayirebi, stated that the government might decide how to compensate cocoa producers without calling an emergency Cabinet meeting.
He maintained that ordering COCOBOD to pay farmers right away gave the appearance that the board had the money on hand.
According to Mr. Nkrumah, “What the government should be doing specifically is instructing that emergency liquidity assistance should be released to COCOBOD to pay the farmers.”
He went on to say that the two primary causes of the sector’s issue were the present management’s reset of COCOBOD’s cocoa trading program and the introduction of foreign exchange into the economy.
Mr. Nkrumah said, “This action to announce a 28 per cent reduction in the production price of cocoa amounts to a haircut of about 28 per cent on close to one million cocoa farmers.”
He cautioned that the price reduction would deter young people from pursuing careers in cocoa, but he also said that the Minority would not think twice about joining farmers in protest.
Source: newsthemegh.com