Asunafo South MP decries "complete rip-off" in cocoa farmer payments

Eric Opoku, the MP for Asunafo South, has strongly criticized the government's decision to implement a 58% increase in cocoa producer prices for the remainder of the 2023/24 crop year.

Speaking on Citi TV's Point of View, Opoku, who also serves as the Ranking Member of the Food, Agriculture, and Cocoa Affairs Committee, lambasted the government for allegedly providing cocoa

Read full articlefarmers with only a fraction of the world market price, labeling it as a "complete rip-off."

According to Opoku, historically, no government has ever allocated less than 40% of the world market price to cocoa farmers, emphasizing that COCOBOD, as the sector's regulator, is not the producer of cocoa.

He questioned the rationale behind dividing the world market price into four parts, with three going to the government and only one to the cocoa farmers.

"The argument we are making is that, historically, no government has ever allocated less than 40% of the world market price to cocoa farmers. COCOBOD is just the regulator; the producers are the farmers. Why is the government taking three-fourths and leaving only one-fourth for the cocoa farmers? It's a complete rip-off," Opoku asserted.

He further highlighted that a bag of cocoa currently fetches GHC8,125 on the world market, raising concerns about the percentage of this share allocated to cocoa farmers.

Opoku argued that the 58% increase represents the lowest share of the world market price given to cocoa farmers in Ghana's history, emphasizing that cocoa prices should be determined based on the prevailing market conditions.

"If you go to the world market, and the conditions are favorable for cocoa farmers, with prices surging to unprecedented levels, we should expect the same improvement in the lives of farmers," Opoku stressed.