The new pricing formula dubbed the Living Income Differential in the purchasing of cocoa takes effect from the new cocoa season in October.
Director of Research Monitoring and Evaluation at COCOBOD, Emmanuel Twumasi announced this at Anyinam in the Eastern Region.
This, he stated, is a wider plan to combat poverty among cocoa farmers.
Addressing farmers at a premium ceremony organised by Federated commodities a cocoa purchasing company, Mr Twumasi explained that the Living Income Differential is an effort between Cote D’Ivoire and Ghana to reform the industry, thus imposing a fixed “living income differential” of $400 a tonne on all cocoa contracts sold by either country for the 2020/21 season.
Mr. Twumasi said it is rather unfortunate that the cocoa sector is being accused of engaging in the worst form of Child labour with some consumers threatening to boycott chocolate products by countries accused of engaging in Child labour.
The Managing Director of Federated Commodities (FEDCO), Mrs. Maria Adamu-Zibo said FEDCO has embarked on a massive registration exercise of cocoa farmers with the aim of organising all 50,000 farmers in Anyinam, Suhum and Tafo into sizeable groups to provide them with enhanced training and good agricultural practices.
Eight cocoa farmers who have distinguished themselves were honoured with Cocoa spraying machine, bags of fertilizers and mobile phones including two cocoa-growing communities.
