The newly appointed Chief Executive of Ghana COCOBOD Dr. Randy Abbey has stated that farmers will be prioritized in the financial issues of the board.

He explained that there is an urgent need to redirect the finances of COCOBOD to compensate farmers.

Engaging stakeholders for the first time after his appointment, Dr.  Abbey told farmers they will be the focus of COCOBOD. He assured that farmers will be constantly consulted to seek their input in decision making.

“We need to listen to them, they are the practitioners. They [farmers] have been involved in this for decades and in every decision that we take, we need to have their input. They ought to be central in our decision making”.

He emphasized the importance of the cocoa farmer in the entire value chain. According to Dr. Abbey, the farmer must be well catered for to encourage the production of quality cocoa for the nation.

“We also need to prioritize their welfare, so that is what I mean by putting the cocoa farmers at the center of what we do here”, he said.

Dr. Abbey underscored the need to continue some long term works started by COCOBOD to boost production.

“There are some things that have been started, for example is the rehabilitation of some of the farms. We need to intensify that. We first of all need to understand what is going on and to intensify it as well”, he said.

Giving some suggestions, he pointed out the need to start focusing on large scale farming to sustain cocoa production.

“We need to work together with the farmers to see how we can increase that. There is also the issue of prioritizing large scale farming, if you look at Côte d' Ivoire and some of the neighboring countries”, he said.

Concerns from cocoa farmers

The spokesperson of the Ghana Cocoa Coffee Sheanut Farmers Association (COCOSHE), Imoro Issifu Alhassan outlined some areas that must be quickly looked at to restore growth in the cocoa sector.

“You have come at a time the COCOSHE are facing huge challenges that must be tackled immediately. The challenges include but not limited to declining production, low incomes persistent threats from pests and diseases”.

He pointed out that another major threat that has significantly affected cocoa production is galamsey.

“These issues and others remain critical priorities for us and we look forward to working closely with your office to tackle them effectively”, he said.

He cautioned that cocoa production is at its lowest ebb, unprecedented in the annals of cocoa production in Ghana.

“From a production level of over one million tons to below 500,000 tonnes as we speak is sickening. For production to sink this low calls for urgent need to tackle these challenges head on”

He added that farmers welfare have also suffered a setback.