The Cocoa Health and Extension Division of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has warned that Ghana's cocoa industry could collapse if urgent steps are not taken to stop the destruction of cocoa farms by illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.

The Regional Manager of the Western South Cocoa Health and Extension Division, Samuel Asuman, said more than 100,000 acres of high-yield cocoa plantations have been destroyed across major cocoa-producing regions, including Ashanti, Western and Central.

He said the growing loss of cocoa farmlands and declining yields have contributed to production deficits that are reducing Ghana's cocoa export earnings and weakening the sector.

Speaking at Samahu during the presentation of the Cocoa Farmers Support Programme organised by the Gold Fields Ghana Foundation, Asuman described illegal mining as the biggest threat to the country's cocoa industry.

"The reduction in export volumes is limiting foreign exchange earnings and crippling COCOBOD's capacity to settle operational debts or fund farmer welfare programmes," he said.

He added that the destruction was occurring despite significant investments by COCOBOD to rehabilitate diseased cocoa farms.

"We recently undertook a project to rehabilitate diseased cocoa farms in the region and farmers have benefited immensely. However, when you visit some districts, you will be surprised by the extent to which galamsey activities are destroying farms that COCOBOD has invested so much to restore," he said.

The Deputy Executive Director of the Cocoa Health and Extension Division of COCOBOD, Abdul-Majid Mumuni, urged farmers not to surrender their cocoa farms to illegal miners, stressing that cocoa remains one of Ghana's most valuable economic commodities.

"There is a future for the cocoa sector, and under no circumstances should farmers give out their cocoa farms for illegal mining activities," he said, adding that the government and COCOBOD were strengthening measures to protect cocoa-growing areas.

The Member of Parliament for Prestea Huni-Valley, Robert Wisdom Cudjoe, also cautioned farmers against trading their cocoa farms for short-term gains, saying, "The money they take will feed them for a short time, but cocoa is there forever."