In Ghana, the new cocoa season is set to begin this week, while the last one saw a 55% drop in production. A poor harvest caused by climate change, illegal gold mining or epidemics that are devastating crops. And the first to suffer are the producers.
Like every morning, Akwasi Ampafo goes around his six-hectare farm in the commune of Juaben. This land is called Aman Paman and I am very happy here “At 66 years old, 20 of which were spent as a cocoa producer, Akwasi Ampafo is now struggling to support himself. It is more complicated to grow cocoa todayhe explains, the climate has changed: the rains are no longer the same, nor are the sunny days. It requires much more attention. »
Pods affected by diseases
Another problem: the price of treatment and weed control products is increasing in a Ghana in an economic crisis where inflation still exceeds 20%. It has become complicated to fight against diseases which, like the cocoa edema virus, attack crops throughout the country.
An observation shared by his neighbor, Emmanuel Akweni, also a cocoa producer, with an infected pod in his hand. There are black dots on it, that means it was attacked by insects ».
Emmanuel Akweni therefore sees its production decreases every year and it is not the increase in the price of a bag set by the Ghanaian cocoa regulator – 2,000 cedis for 64 kg for this season – which will really change his situation: ” We want more, a bag at 3,000, 3,500 cedis. With the current price, to survive, I am forced to borrow from the bank or from my relatives. » However, neither he nor Akwasi Ampafo intend to sell their farms; the only land they own. On the other hand, there is no question of their children getting into cocoa in turn.
Rubber and gold supplant cocoa
A widespread transmission problem here in Ghana, which risks undermine future productions. This is at least what Richmond Frimpong, a journalist specializing in agriculture based in the city of Kumasi, thinks: ” Nobody, especially young people, wants to get into cocoa production. Firstly, because most young people do not have the funds to obtain land to cultivate. Secondly, because the cocoa sector does not promise better living conditions.. »
The solution, according to him: tax advantages for treatment products and fertilizers, investing in rural areas by building roads and preventing the cutting down of cocoa trees by law. When you go to the eastern region and some parts of the western region, estime Richmond Frimpong, Some cocoa producers have sold their land to rubber investors and galamsayeurs because they need money immediately. » 19,000 hectares: this is the area of cocoa trees destroyed by illegal gold mines in 2022. A scourge that is difficult to stem while the cocoa regulator has announced that it hopes for a rebound in production for the next season.
Also listen to Ghana: cocoa production in sharp decline, loss of agricultural land partly responsible
