THE NEW PRODUCER PRICE (OCT 15, 2009)

COCOA farmers throughout the country have welcomed the new producer price for the produce and the introduction of the insurance package as a progressive move to rejuvenate the cocoa industry.
Although for some time now our governments have taken steps to diversify the economy, cocoa continues to earn the bulk of the country’s foreign exchange, albeit with some challenges.
The price of cocoa has been going up since last year, against the general global economic decline, and Ghana stands to gain tremendously if cocoa farmers are motivated to increase their yield.
When we faced challenges with the declining price of cocoa on the world market some years ago, the government decided to encourage farmers and business men and women to venture into the cultivation of non-traditional export crops.
In no time Ghana made inroads into the international market with produce such as pineapples, considered to be of high quality, pepper, cashew, mangoes and pawpaw. The list is inexhaustible and the results showed in the performance of the sector as a major foreign exchange earner for the country.
But the stakeholders in the sector, especially the farmers, the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) and the government, still felt that with the right practices, cocoa could continue to earn a fortune for the country.
Indeed, anytime the price of the commodity has fallen on the world market, there has been trouble with Ghana’s foreign exchange reserves.
The government has made certain interventions, such as the mass spraying of cocoa farms and the supply of fertiliser to the farmers to help boost yield, and the result has been quite astounding.
The DAILY GRAPHIC thinks that the periodic review of the producer price of cocoa has helped to sustain at least the interest of our aged farmers in the industry.
We commend the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and COCOBOD for the latest interventions to motivate cocoa farmers and assure the youth that if they venture into cocoa farming their toils will not be in vain.
While these steps taken by the government are refreshing, it should quickly deal with other bottlenecks in the system that frustrate farmers not to either maintain their farms or undertake new ventures.
The liberalisation of the purchases of cocoa has introduced competition into the sector but on some occasions certain licensed buying companies (LBCs) have defaulted in paying the farmers.
The DAILY GRAPHIC thinks the time has come for the stakeholders to find an antidote to this challenge in order to sustain the interest of the farmers in the industry.
The directive to the review committee to undertake a quarterly review of the producer price, instead of the seasonal ritual, should give hope to farmers that the government is determined to address the challenges facing the industry.
The DAILY GRAPHIC thinks that the farmers also have to honour their side of the bargain by not only increasing production but also exposing those who engage in the smuggling of the produce to neighbouring countries.
We believe the package announced by the government is good enough to improve the welfare of the farmers but the DAILY GRAPHIC expects the farmers to keep to good practices in order to sustain the premium placed on Ghana’s cocoa beans.