The Majority in Parliament has reminded the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Minority its time in power did not see them reach into the stabilization fund to increase the producer price of cocoa, following drops on the world market in the 2012/201313 and 2013/2014 crop seasons.
Addressing a Press Conference on Friday, the Deputy Minister for Agriculture and MP for Akim Oda, William Quaitoo, noted that despite those drops “the price was not increased.”
“It simply cannot be done. We cannot increase it and in their time it happened. Two years consecutively cocoa prices were not increased and we don’t see how the prices can be increased in the coming year,” Mr. Quaitoo added.
The Minority in Parliament at a press conference on Wednesday, had accused the government of not looking out enough for cocoa farmers because of its decision not increase the cocoa producer price due to a fall in world market prices.
The Minority argued that, the government must utilize the cocoa stabilization fund established by the previous government, to cushion farmers instead of the insensitive approach the COCOBOD intends to use.
But Mr. Quaitoo stressed that “stabilization is stabilization. It is to stabilize the price at that current state. It is not meant to increase it. Who can tell what will happen tomorrow? The price is still dipping.”
Aside from this, he added that COCOBOD was even dealing with debts and was looking for loans for support “so why do you increase prices when you cannot meet it… We don’t see how the prices can be increased in the coming year when we are borrowing money to sustain the current price.”
The Majority’s response echoed that of the Ghana Cocoa Board’s (COCOBOD) reply to the Minority, explaining that the Cocoa Stabilization Fund, was not set up to ensure an increase in the producer price after a fall in world market prices.
It noted that, the Stabilization Fund “is neither to be used to increase producer price, nor pay bonuses as stated by the Minority in Parliament, but rather as the name implies, to stabilize prices to the farmers.”
“The Stabilization Fund is rather a standby Fund which ensures that irrespective of how low cocoa prices fall on the world market, Ghanaian farmers do not suffer a reduction in producer price,” COCOBOD explained in a press release.
Also in response to criticisms by the Minority in Parliament, the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has said its decision to do away with the free fertilizer policy was in response to requests and complaints by farmers.
Ahead of the 2014/2015 crop season, COCOBOD decided to give out the fertilizers free of charge to farmers for application on their farms.
But COCOBOD, in a press release, explained that this free fertilizer policy led to complaints of “inadequate supply as well as the diversion of the inputs.” “The free fertilizer policy created a lot of loopholes for diversion and smuggling of the inputs to the detriment of our cherished cocoa farmers,” it added.
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(Via: CitiFM Online Ghana)
