The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr. Bryan Acheampong, has stated that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will in the coming days announce some measures in favour of cocoa farmers.
According to the Minister, even though he does not want to jump the gun and disclose details before the President, he is optimistic that the announcement is one that will discourage farmers from trading their Cocoa farms for illegal mining.
“I don’t want to take the wind out of the president’s sail. There’s a big announcement coming for Cocoa farmers in this country. It is unprecedented. There’s going to be a big, big, big announcement for cocoa farmers,” he was quoted by myjoyonlline.com.
“Cocoa farming is going to change in this country because we know it is an important crop, and we know the toils of farmers,” he added.
The Minister further added that the benefits of leasing cocoa lands to illegal miners may be juicy in the interim but cannot match the benefits that cocoa farming will bring in the long run.
“I don’t think the money the ‘galamsey'[illegal miner] person will give you if you aggregate it over ten years, it will beat what cocoa will give you,” he argued.
“Yes, if you compare what you will get from Cocoa to that of what the galamsey person will give you, maybe the galamsayers money will be so much for this year, but what happens next year, next five years, and next ten years? You may be coerced to give out your property but in the long term, you will lose,” he explained.
SSD/FNOQ
Source: www.ghanaweb.com