Akufo-Addo has collapsed COCOBOD and shortchanged cocoa farmers – Eric Adjei

The Deputy Spokesperson for the NDC in the Bono Region, Eric Appiah Adjei has chastised the Akufo-Addo government for impoverishing cocoa farmers in the country with its poor policies.

Speaking on Dwaboase on TV XYZ, Adjei told host Kwame Minkah that Ghana COCOBOD, the body mandated to manage the affairs of cocoa, one of the most important crops in the country, has rather worsened the plights of cocoa farmers most of whom live in rural areas.

He alleged that COCOBOD since the assumption of the NPP government in office, always misapply funds from syndicated loans acquired to purchase cocoa beans and rather give the hardworking farmers peanuts.

Eric Adjei was speaking to the controversies that have greeted the announcement of a new producer price for the 2023/2024 cocoa season by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

“Today, cocoa prices have increased from GH¢12,800.00 to GH¢20,943.00 per tonne and GH¢1,308.00 per bag, the President announced last week.

This translates into a 63.5 per cent increase from the current price of GH¢800.00, making it the highest to be paid to cocoa farmers across West Africa in some 15 years, according to the President.

But Eric believes some GHS 1500 must be added to the price of a bag of cocoa for every farmer.