Farmer General of the Concerned Farmers Association, Nana Oboadie Boateng Bonsu says he supports Ghana Cocoa Board’s (COCOBOD) decision to finance the cocoa purchase from its internal operations.
According to him, borrowing from the external market often placed Ghana at a disadvantage since prices of cocoa locally produced are dictated by external creditors.
Hence switch from borrowing to raising revenue was long-awaited and a step in the right direction.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Top Story, he said “This has been an issue each and every day. Go out there just to borrow. We have been borrowing for so long and I think this is the right time for Ghana to be independent or COCOBOD to be independent.
“It is something that we have been saying for so long. We started saying this thing four years ago that how can we be borrowing money each and every day to purchase cocoa? When it happens like that, they will be having upper hand on our products,” he said.
Mr Boateng’s comments come on the back of Chief Executive of COCOBOD, Joseph Boahen announcing that for the first time in three decades, it would not raise money through offshore syndicated loan to finance the purchase of cocoa beans for the 2024/2025 crop season.
He said there is an elaborate plan to wean COCOBOD off loans with high interest rates from offshore lenders.
Mr Boahen explained it was not financially prudent for COCOBOD to continue relying on loans from international banks, when it has the capacity to directly raise money from the country at a relatively cheaper rate to buy the beans.
When asked by host Evans Mensah on August 21, if farmer think it was feasible for COCOBOD to raise funds internally, the farmer General argued that there was enough resources in the country to execute this project.
He added that priorities must be re-evaluated to ensure that Ghana buys the beans needed for the crop season.
“There is money in the country, now that we are doing gold for oil and other things, there is a lot of money in the country that we can raise it to purchase the cocoa.
“There is money. If we have been able to raise money to build the cathedral, how can’t we raise money to purchase the cocoa? I believe that we can do that. Let us give them the benefit of the doubt just to see the way forward and see how best they can do this thing,” he added.
