Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia, running mate to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, has promised that an NPP government after the December polls, will revive what he calls the ‘ailing’ cocoa sector.
According to him, the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), has failed to sustain the growth of the cocoa industry after 8 years in power.
He said the Mahama-led administration is collapsing the once vibrant sector with its poor policies.
He also accused the NDC of skewing policies such as the mass cocoa spraying programme introduced under the administration of the former President John Kufour, to benefit only NDC loyalists. Dr. Bawumia was addressing residents in the Adamkwaman community in the Central Region, where he is currently touring as part of his election 2016 NPP campaign.
“For the cocoa business that has dwindled, we are going to revive it. Under the President Kufour administration, the mass spraying exercise was doing well without discrimination… The NDC has politicized all of Kufour’s interventions. We will give farmers fertilizers to help them in their work.
That is why we must vote them [NDC] out and bring in Nana Addo to effectively do all of these for cocoa farmers,” he said.
‘Government increases producer price of cocoa’
Government on Saturday [October 1] announced an increase in the producer price of cocoa by 11.76%. A 64kg bag of cocoa, which previously sold at GH¢425, will now be sold at GH¢475.00, an 11.76% increase, representing a 77.45% increment of the net of the FoB [Free on Board].
The Deputy Minister of Finance, Ato Casseil Forson made the announcement at the celebration of the International Cocoa Day at Tepa, in the Ahafo Ano North District of the Ashanti region.
The celebration was under the theme, “Transforming the cocoa sector for economic growth- The role of the youth.”
The Minister, who doubles as the Chairman of Producer Price Review Committee, said the new price takes effect from October 1, 2016
‘Cocoa farmers unhappy with increase’
But some cocoa farmers in the Ashanti Region expressed disappointment in government over what they describe as a ‘paltry’ increase in the producer price of cocoa.
According to them, they expected an increase from the current ¢425.00 per 64kg bag to an amount of over ¢500.00. They said the new price still meant their cost will outweigh their income.
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