NO COMPENSATION FOR FRUITS LOST TO MILL BREAKDOWN

By Solomon Davids

Investigations conducted by The Daily Democrat indicate that out-growers for Ghana Oil Palm Development Corporation (GOPDC) in the Eastern region are losing their investment in their deal with the company, following a break down in the mill that processes palm fruits they produce.

This paper has learnt that since the company’s mill collapsed in January, palm farmers, who are bound by an agreement not to sell the fruits to any other entity, have been looking on as their fruits rot without any assurances of compensation from the management of GOPDC. According to the agreement, GOPDC only pays for bunches of palm fruits weighed and sent to the mill for processing; therefore, any bunch that is not captured through that process becomes a burden on the farmer.

Since the mill developed some faults in January, out-growers in Fiakwae, Chian, Old Abirem, Afosu and Praso, among others have been looking on as their palm produce rot without any assurance from management on what would happen to them.

The farmers have run out of cash but bound by the agreement with GOPDC not to sell to other entities, in spite of the good harvest. GOPDC supports the farmers with fertilisers and other farming implements and in turn, the out-growers are bound to sell their produce to them alone.

Even though they are supposed to harvest the fruits every two weeks, the farmers have been waiting for two months without any concrete word from their counterparts, with severe financial implications.

“If they don’t ask you to cut the palm fruits, you do that at your own loss. We look on as our palm fruits rot and fall like rotten pawpaw. They don’t tell us anything and their vehicles too are not coming here. We just don’t know what to do,” a worried farmer lamented, adding that, “We went for loans to work on the palm trees and the time is due for repayment.”

When contacted, the Community Relations Officer of GODPC, Alhaji Bashiru Emmanuel, admitted their mill had developed a fault but assured that they were working seriously on it. He also stated that they would compensate the farmers for any palm fruit lost.

Though he did not state the actual mode of compensation, he said they were working with the farmer organizations to resolve the issue of compensation. He denied that the mill did not have the capacity to take all the produce the farmers bring, thereby deliberately causing the fruits to rot with the farmers rather than in their mill where they would be compelled to pay the farmers. Further checks with the farming communities showed that, if there should be any compensation, it would be communicated to them right from the onset of the fault.

“The leaders in the various communities would have told us about compensation and the mode. It would have been discussed and agreed upon but from what is happening, they are not going to do anything for us. We are just losing,” a leading farmer said. Stay tuned.