The World Cocoa Farmers Organisation (WCFO) Ghana chapter is working to secure proper land documentation for farmers.

It presented a proposal to the Executive Secretary of the Lands Commission in Accra, focusing on land tenure issues faced by cocoa farmers, especially tenant farmers in the Western North Region.

The proposal aims to help farmers secure legal documents that will protect cocoa and agricultural farmland from litigation.

Contention

In Ghana, land ownership is mostly governed by customary systems, with chiefs controlling the majority of agricultural land.

Due to the importance of land and the lack of documentation among most tenant cocoa farmers, contentions often arise in cocoa-growing regions about access and ownership rights.

Moses Djan Asiedu, Board Secretary of the World Cocoa Farmers Organization, explained that participatory research conducted by WCFO found that about 70% of cocoa farmers lack legal ownership documents.

This has led to insecure tenancy and an unwillingness by cocoa farmers to rehabilitate farms affected by disease or age, thus discouraging long-term investment.

He also stated that the complex land registration processes in Ghana have further discouraged cocoa farmers from initiating the registration process.

Asiedu mentioned that the proposal is expected to address land tenure issues faced by cocoa farmers, especially tenant cocoa farmers, across the cocoa-growing regions in Ghana through relevant stakeholders such as the Lands Commission, the Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands, and COCOBOD.

Emelda Amoah, Advocacy Manager of the World Cocoa Farmers Organization, emphasized the need for collaboration between the two organizations in explaining their final proposal to the Commission.

“There is an urgent need for key stakeholder collaboration to simplify the registration process by ensuring that cocoa farmers are assisted with obtaining the requirements for registration and obtaining legal land documentation,” she added.

Commission

The Executive Secretary of the Lands Commission, Surveyor Benjamin Arthur, explained that their primary duty at the Lands Commission is to provide high-quality, reliable, and efficient services in geographic information, guaranteed tenure, property valuation, surveying, and mapping to their stakeholders, including farmers.

“It is my great pleasure to welcome you all warmly to the Lands Commission to be part of the proposal presentation between the Lands Commission and the World Cocoa Farmers Organization (WCFO).

“I believe in proper documentation, and let me assure you that the proposal before me will be thoroughly examined. Possible recommendations or guidance will be suggested to your organization to help address the challenges farmers are facing in cocoa-growing regions in Ghana,” he said.