(Special for CAFS) Small-scale mining threatens Ghana's cocoa production levels

The destruction of cocoa and other farms by small-scale miners poses a threat to Ghana's cocoa production levels, the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has warned.

The Deputy Executive Director of the Cocoa Health and Extension Division of COCOBOD, Reverend Emmanuel Ahia Klotey, gave the warning when he addressed the annual conference of the "Kookoo Pa" farmers Association at Nyinahin in the Atwima-Mponus District in the Ashanti Region over the weekend, the state-run Ghana News Agency reported here Monday.

He decried the practice whereby chiefs, land owners and farmers kept releasing lands and cutting down farms to give way to gold mining, saying the situation could have serious consequences for the cocoa industry if the practice went unchecked.

"Efforts at attaining production targets will struggle, if this goes unchecked," he added.

Rev Klotey said the youth eager to go into cocoa growing needed to be assisted with access to land to help not only boost production but also enable them to create wealth for themselves.

He made reference to the youth in cocoa production program introduced by the COCOBOD to entice the young people into the crop's cultivation to revamp the sector.

That, he indicated, was the way forward to maintain the country's position as leader in quality cocoa production.

Stephen Yeboah, the District Chief Executive, praised cocoa farmers for their immense contribution to the socio-economic development of the nation. He appealed to the youth in the area to take advantage of the interventions by the COCOBOD to go into cocoa farming to transform their living conditions. Endit