The President of the Licensed Cocoa Buyers Association of Ghana, Samuel Adimado, has welcomed the government’s latest measures to reform the cocoa sector and settle outstanding payments owed to farmers and industry players.

Speaking on Pulse on JoyNews after the Finance Minister directed the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to begin immediate payment to affected cocoa farmers, Mr Adimado described the engagement with the minister as encouraging.

“It has been an excellent engagement. Indeed, we are impressed with the measures that were rolled out by the minister,” he said.

According to him, the industry needs a new approach to overcome its current challenges.

“As they say, you cannot continue to do the old things and get a new result. You need to do new things to get new results and therefore the Minister has, policy-wise, given us the framework of new things we need to do to rescue our cocoa industry. And for this matter, I’m very much impressed,” he stated.

He added that he was speaking not only for himself but also on behalf of his members. “On behalf of my members, we are very much impressed,” he said.

Mr Adimado also revealed that the association had met with cocoa farmers, whom he described as understanding and supportive of the new direction.

“We had a meeting with our gallant farmers and the farmers were excellent in understanding the situation and the opportunity therein,” he noted.

One of the key proposals announced by the Finance Minister is that farmers will be guaranteed at least 70 per cent of the terminal price of cocoa.

“Under no circumstances will a farmer get below 70 per cent of the terminal price. Under no circumstances, as the minister indicated, and never again,” Mr Adimado said.

He explained that this means farmers will benefit whenever prices improve.

“At any point that the cocoa terminal price will flip, the farmer has to gain there,” he said.

The president also highlighted the minister’s warning that failure to comply with the new rules would attract sanctions.

“The minister was emphatic that not complying with this new regulation comes with punitive measures. Which means that if you are working at COCOBOD, you cannot do anything and think you can go scot-free,” he stated.

He added that the minister made it clear that “any excesses or recklessness will not go scot-free”, assuring farmers that their concerns had been heard.

“Farmers’ call has been listened to. LDCs’ call that we need to be paid has been listened to. And now, we believe that with this proposal, we are on a new tangent for a new paradigm shift,” he added.

Mr Adimado had previously raised concerns that members of his association were owed about GH¢10 billion.

When asked whether he had confidence that the money would be paid soon, he responded: “Yes, all will be paid. So, we hope that we are going to pay it as well.”

On plans to process at least 50 per cent of cocoa beans locally, Mr Adimado described the move as strategic.

“I would like listeners to note that all the big players have investments in Ghana. All the big players, those who matter in cocoa beans, have investment in Ghana,” he said.

He added that the minister’s proposal reflects a strong understanding of the market. “If you understand cocoa, it is the perfect strategy that you should be able to position yourself in the market, where you can take advantage of the market dynamics,” he explained.

“Of course, the minister says that these strategies are under his lips; I understand as a cocoa man. But to listeners, it’s a perfect strategy that needs to be rolled out at this juncture, the situation we find ourselves in,” he added.

Asked whether all members of the association share his confidence of being impressed, Mr Adimado answered in the affirmative.

“Yes, our members are cocoa companies. They understand the dynamics, they live by cocoa and they survive by cocoa,” he said.

“As the minister indicated, cocoa is the mainstay of our economy. And again, the biggest employer in this country,” he stated.

According to him, industry leaders who attended the meeting were satisfied with the reforms and believe they will help revive the sector.

“Our members were all here; the leadership was here. They were very confident, satisfied that this new strategy would take us out of the woods,” Mr Adimado said.

Read also: Gov’t orders immediate payment to cocoa farmers, plans new COCOBOD bill