The Chairman of the National Cocoa Farmers Association Credit Union (NACOFa), Augustine Ackah, has disclosed details of a petition his association has submitted to the Ghana cocoa Board (COCOBOD), demanding pension and improved welfare schemes for cocoa farmers across the country.
Speaking on Bryt Adekyee Mu Nsem with Kwamina Sam Biney on Koforidua based Bryt FM, Mr. Ackah described the contents of the letter as “very simple” but long overdue.
According to him, cocoa farming in Ghana has spanned nearly 80 years, yet farmers who form the backbone of the industry continue to retire without any structured pension support.
“It has been almost 80 years since we started planting cocoa. When COCOBOD was formed under PNDC Law, a legal framework was established to protect the industry, and many concerns were raised at the time,” he stated.
He criticized what he described as shifting responses from authorities whenever the issue of legal framework is raised.
“If you ask questions today, they will tell you they started from one point; the next time, they will say they have moved to another stage. Yet, not even a single cocoa farmer has been properly placed on a pension scheme to benefit after years of service,” he lamented.
The NACOFa Chairman stressed that the association considers the situation unacceptable, arguing that farmers, who produce the cocoa beans, deserve better treatment than they currently receive.
“We are the ones who produce the cocoa. We give you the finished product to sell on our behalf. You act as intermediaries, negotiating to ensure the money comes, and you also take your share,” he said.
He further alleged that COCOBOD employees enjoy significantly better conditions of service, including higher salaries, healthcare benefits for themselves and their families, allowances, and ex gratia payments privileges he says are not extended to farmers.
“Despite all these, you earn bigger salaries than us. You have welfare packages such that when you and your family are sick, you go to the hospital free. You take allowances and ex gratia. Meanwhile, we the farmers, who suffer to produce the cocoa, receive nothing in terms of pension or proper welfare support,” he added.
He called on COCOBOD and relevant stakeholders to urgently address the concerns raised in the letter, insisting that justice for cocoa farmers is critical to sustaining Ghana’s cocoa industry.
Source: Mybrytfmonline.com/Tamara Owusu Ansah
