Cocoa farmers are to be paid hugely for their hard work starting from the next cocoa season in October 2020. This was pronounced by the Vice President, H.E Mahamudu Bawumia on one on one interview with the Chairman General, Kwame Sefa Kayi at Peace FM, Accra.
This seeks to respond to the farmers’ call on Cocoa Board for the increment of the cocoa price last week.
At the interview, the Vice President of the Republic said there had been a negotiation between the Ivory Coast and the cocoa buyers to pay an additional living income differential of four hundred Dollars (USD 400) per metric tonnes of cocoa to every cocoa farmer in October.
He clarified that the additional living income differential would be paid directly to the cocoa farmers without government engagement. Therefore, this would give transparency in the payment without any mediation.
According to the Veep, the increment would inject energy into the cocoa sector for more yield in the coming cocoa season. He admitted that the sector is facing a lot of challenges that have compelled some of the cocoa farmers to divert from cocoa to other cash crops. “Output is not as high as we expected, there have been some challenges and people have replaced the cocoa with other crops”, he uttered.
He applauded the CEO of the Cocoa Board and his team for their remarkable hard work to transform the cocoa industry.
