The newly appointed Chief Executive of Ghana COCOBOD, Dr. Randy Abbey, emphasized the prioritization of farmers’ welfare within the board’s financial strategies. He stressed the need to reallocate COCOBOD’s financial resources to adequately compensate farmers.
Addressing stakeholders for the first time since his appointment, Dr. Abbey assured farmers that they would remain central in COCOBOD’s decision-making processes, emphasizing their vital role as the primary practitioners in the cocoa industry. “Farmers have decades of experience, and their input must guide every decision we make,” he stated.
He highlighted the critical role of the cocoa farmer in the entire value chain, emphasizing that their welfare must be prioritized to ensure high-quality cocoa production. “We need to place cocoa farmers at the core of our operations,” Dr. Abbey affirmed.
Dr. Abbey also underscored the importance of continuing long-term initiatives aimed at boosting cocoa production, such as the ongoing rehabilitation of cocoa farms, which needs to be intensified for optimal results.
Additionally, he advocated for a focus on large-scale farming to sustain cocoa production, referencing successful models from Côte d’Ivoire and neighboring countries. “We need collaborative efforts to scale up production, with a strong focus on large-scale farming,” he suggested.
In response, Imoro Issifu Alhassan, spokesperson for the Ghana Cocoa Coffee Sheanut Farmers Association (COCOSHE), raised urgent concerns, including declining production, low incomes, and threats from pests, diseases, and illegal mining activities (galamsey).
He stressed that these challenges, coupled with the steep drop in production from over one million tons to under 500,000 tons, require immediate attention. “This unprecedented decline in production demands an urgent and concerted effort to address these issues,” he warned. Alhassan also noted that farmers’ welfare had suffered significant setbacks.
