Former Deputy Minister for Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs, Yaw Frimpong Addo, has raised concerns over the process that led to the passage of the new Cocoa Bill.

The Manso Adubia MP claims key stakeholders in the cocoa value chain, including hauliers who transport cocoa from production areas to the ports, were not consulted before the legislation was passed.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Monday, Mr Frimpong Addo said the Minority was not opposed to every provision in the bill but had identified specific areas it considers problematic.

“It’s not everything in the bill that we, the minority, are saying is not good for the farmers. We have listed the key areas where we think are problematic, and that the president should not assent this bill until the until enough consultation is done,” he said.

He also insisted that the Minority’s input should have been considered before the bill was passed.

According to him, the involvement of the parliamentary Agriculture Committee came too late in the legislative process.

“It came too late in the day when the referral was made that the Agric committee leadership was to join the finance committee and then the legal affairs committee to look at the bill,” he said.

Mr Frimpong Addo said the late involvement of the Agriculture Committee raised concerns about the extent to which the Minority could participate in the deliberations.

“A major stakeholder like the Agriculture Committee in Parliament. So when all this information was not coming, our leadership made sure that nobody took part in the deliberations at all,” he said.

He said the decision was influenced by what he described as the failure to involve the Minority from the beginning of the process.

“Because in the first place they didn’t see the essence of including the minority in the deliberations from day one, and that for us was not too good for the bill to pass,” he said.

Mr Frimpong Addo further questioned the consultation process with stakeholders outside Parliament.

He singled out hauliers who transport cocoa from the hinterlands to the ports, arguing that they are important players in the cocoa industry.

“You know, we have hauliers also in the scheme of things when we talk about the cocoa industry, those who haul the cocoa from the hinterlands to the ports, and these stakeholders were not consulted,” he said.

He believes the lack of consultation creates fundamental concerns about the legislation and warrants a fresh examination before presidential assent.

“So we think that fundamentally there are problems. There are challenges with the Bill, and we need a thorough look at it,” he said.

Mr Frimpong Addo also criticised efforts to engage farmers’ groups after Parliament had already passed the legislation.

He said consultations should have taken place before the bill was passed rather than afterwards.

“From there, a lot of consultations will have to take place because what they have done is like putting the cart before the horse,” he said.

He added: “It came to our notice that they are now going round having meetings with farmers’ groups and all that. After the bill has been passed, that is not normal. That’s not correct.”