By Dennis Peprah, GNA
Tepa, (Ashanti), Feb. 21, GNA – Mr James Kyei Sarpong, the Executive Director of the Foundation for Democratic Integrity (FDI), a civil society organisation has welcomed reforms in the nation’s cocoa sector, asking the government to prioritize rehabilitation of cocoa roads as well.
He said the on-going reforms were required to address the deepening challenges confronting the cocoa sector, saying that the sector had been the backbone of Ghana’s economy for over 75 years and a major foreign exchange.
Mr Sarpong told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview at Tepa in the Ahafo Ano North Municipality of the Ashanti Region that the cocoa sector’s contributions to the growth of the economy remained unparalleled, providing livelihoods for thousands of households.
He said tackling the teething challenges like inadequate farm inputs for farmers, poor road networks in cocoa-growing communities, cocoa smuggling and price instability among others remained pre-requisite if the nation could regain its position as the second largest cocoa growing producer.
Mr Sarpong said the cocoa sector had sustained the nation’s economy for decades contributing to advancement in education, healthcare, infrastructure development and rural livelihoods, worrying that “allowing the sector to collapse will cost the country dearly”.
He noted that rigorous reforms ought to be implemented to address cocoa production shortfalls that threaten the livelihoods of the majority of farmers and national revenue.
Mr Sarpong said without strong reforms, like improved farmer incentives, transparent management of the sector, and strengthened anti-smuggling measures, the situation could worsen.
He called on the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to intensify monitoring mechanisms, ensure timely distribution of fertilizers and seedlings, and improve extension services to farmers, and asked the government to also ensure that the review of the cocoa producer price reflected global market realities.
“Fair pricing is key to discouraging smuggling of cocoa beans to neighboring countries”, he advised, and called on Ghanaians to depoliticize national discourses around the cocoa sector.
Instead, the nation must focus on collaborative and long-term solutions that safeguard the future of the nation’s cocoa sector, Mr Sarpong urged.
GNA
Kenneth Odeng Adade