The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) is to appear before Parliament over non-payment to cocoa farmers through their respective Licensed Buying Companies (LBC) for the period of 2020/21 crop season.
The First Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei-Owusu, gave the directive in reaction to a statement by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Buem, Kofi Adams on the plight of Cocoa farmers in cocoa growing areas in Ghana, for not receiving payments.
The Speaker further directed the Leadership of the House to programme officials of the BOARD to meet The Committee of The Whole of Parliament to discuss the issues.
In his statement, titled: “The plight of cocoa farmers in the Buem constituency despite government’s $1.3 billion loan facility to the Ghana Cocoa Board”, Mr. Adams said, reports from his constituency and other constituencies in the cocoa growing regions have it that, cocoa farmers have not been paid by LBCs for their cocoa purchased in the last two months even though they are in the third month of the main cocoa season.
According to him, “the Ghana Cocoa Board secured a $ 1.3 billion-dollar facility to purchase cocoa beans for the 2020/21 crop season. This facility was to assist the Cocoa board make upfront payment for cocoa beans that it purchases from cocoa farmers. Most of the cocoa farmers in Ghana depend mainly on the proceeds of cocoa sale to fend for themselves and their families and most importantly to prepare new farmlands for the next farming season. The proceeds of these sales pay their bills ranging from school fees through domestic utilities to medical bills”.
Mr. Adams again wants parliament to intervene to get Cocoa Board to release funds to LBCs to enable them pay the farmers for the cocoa beans purchased, during the period under review since it was “Parliament which approved the syndicated facility for the purpose of purchasing cocoa for the (2020/21) crop”.
In a rebuttal, the Deputy Majority Leader and MP for Efutu, Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin refuted the claims made by the Buem MP and challenged him to name LBCs that have not paid.
According to him, Ghana Cocoa Board has settled all LBCs that have raised certificates for payment.
Story by: Edzorna Francis Mensah