MOTIVATING OUR COCOA FARMERS (JAN 17, 2011)

SINCE Ghana discovered oil in commercial quantities in 2007, many countries have offered various forms of counsel to help us escape the “Dutch Disease”.
Experiences from some countries, even in the West African sub-region, indicate that when those countries struck oil in commercial quantities, they abandoned all business endeavours, concentrating solely on the exploration of oil. The end result was that agriculture suffered, other businesses were neglected and the living standards of the people deteriorated.
Certainly, expectations are very high among Ghanaians concerning the oil find. Many even think that with the commencement of the exportation of oil, the country’s economic woes are behind us. Some expect jobs, while the people in the Western Region think that part of the oil revenue should be given to them or channelled towards specific development activities in the region. A section of the populace even think that the government should no longer increase the prices of petroleum products because we are now an oil-producing country.
One major sector of the economy that will suffer serious repercussions if we focus solely on oil is the agricultural sector, especially the cocoa industry. For many years, the sector has been the life blood of the economy and contributed immensely to the provision of many social amenities in the country.
In the area of education, for instance, cocoa revenue has helped provide scholarships for children of cocoa farmers and a cross-section of other children and construct school infrastructure, health facilities and roads.
Successive governments have spared no effort at maintaining the cocoa industry as the major income earner of the country. Good farming practices, the provision of inputs such as fertilisers and chemicals, as well as high-yielding varieties, and spraying free of charge have all been introduced to ensure a vibrant and productive cocoa industry. Governments have also taken steps to deal with the swollen shoot virus that threatens many cocoa farms in the six cocoa-growing regions of the country.
In 2009, the Mills administration announced some interventions to sustain the interest of farmers in the cocoa industry and also motivate the youth to go into agriculture. These include a periodic review of the producer price of cocoa, the payment of bonuses and plans to introduce a pension scheme for farmers.
Last Thursday, the leadership of the Cocoa, Coffee and Sheanut Farmers Association called on President J.E.A. Mills at the Castle to express their gratitude to the government for the unprecedented increase in the producer price of cocoa since he assumed office in 2009.
The President used the occasion to commend the farmers for their support for the national economy and re-affirmed his commitment to ensure that “you have the strength and encouragement to contribute more to improve the lives of the people”.
The Daily Graphic believes that the government will develop all the sectors by committing the necessary resources to them, including the oil industry, for them to play a major role in achieving the government’s Better Ghana agenda.
If we dare abandon other sectors because of the oil find, the “Dutch Disease” will certainly catch up with us and the consequences may not be pleasant.
For this reason, the Daily Graphic appeals to all, including our cocoa farmers, to reciprocate the government’s gesture of an attractive producer price with increased production of the produce so that we can regain our position as the largest cocoa producer in the world.