The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has condemned the Forestry Commission of Ghana for the destruction of 70 acres of cocoa farms.

The Forestry Commission has reportedly destroyed about 42 acres of mature cocoa farms and plans to demolish an additional 30 acres in Asuogya and Adabokrom, Western North Region.

Prof. Michael Kwateng, Head of the Cocoa Protection Desk at COCOBOD, visited the affected farms during a recent sensitization and education exercise after receiving a petition from local cocoa farmers, who claim that their farms, cultivated for over 40 years, are now threatened by the Commission’s actions.

Prof. Kwateng stated that while the Forestry Commission argues that the land is a protected forest reserve, the farmers dispute this claim.

They assert that the land has been in their family for generations and that previous court rulings in 1988 and 2016 favoured the farmers.

Despite these rulings, the Commission allegedly extorted money from the farmers and allocated parts of the land to others for farming in exchange for royalties.

However, due to current economic hardships, the farmers are unable to pay the amount anymore hence believed to have necessitated the destruction.

Prof. Kwateng argues that the Commission’s actions of destroying the cocoa farms are illegal as they bypassed COCOBOD, violating the Economic Plants Protection Act of 1979.

He said only a court can authorize the destruction of such farms.

COCOBOD has sought to address the issue with the Commission, but the situation remains unresolved.

Prof. Kwateng questioned the Forestry Commission’s inaction during the past 40 years of cocoa cultivation and announced that COCOBOD would escalate the matter to their legal department to seek compensation for the destroyed cocoa farms and trees.