Nana Asare Bediako aka ‘Obama’, the DCE of Atwima Nwabiagya District in the Ashanti Region, has warned that anyone caught engaging in illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, will be arrested and prosecuted.

He explained that the ban on galamsey operations in the district was geared towards protecting cocoa, which has been a major foreign exchange earner for the country over the years.

Nana Bediako disclosed how cocoa farms in most parts of the country were rapidly being turned into mining sites, thereby putting the future of cocoa production in Ghana in grave danger.

The Atwima Nwabiagye DCE stressed that he would not allow cocoa production to face a threat in his district, insisting that cocoa is still very useful and a major foreign exchange earner for Ghana.

He was speaking during the Premium Payment Ceremony and the Third Annual General Meeting of Kookoo-Pa, which was under the theme, ‘Producing Quality Cocoa Beans: the Challenges of the Ghanaian Cocoa Farmer.’

Nana Bediako cautioned that Ghana’s cocoa production would see a significant drop in ten to 15 years time from now, if measures are not taken to stop the increase in galamsey operations in Ghana.

He admonished cocoa farmers to refrain from selling their farms to people to use them as mining sites, stressing that cocoa production is more lucrative than selling arable lands.

Peter Aidoo, President of Kookoo-Pa, flatly debunked assertions that people who are not placed well on the social ladder indulge in cocoa farming.

Kookoo-Pa, he disclosed, was set up in 2009 with 352 cocoa farmers from two districts, indicating that the size of the group had grown to a staggering 8,600 farmers drawn from seven districts in the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo Regions.

According to him, Kookoo-Pa was established mainly to help educate and assist cocoa farmers to work based on acceptable standards in order to boost their yields and also protect the environment in the process.

Fred Amponsah, Project Manager of Kookoo-Pa, said projects such as Cocoa Certification and Cocoa Livelihood Projects initiated by his outfit to better the lives of cocoa farmers were on course.

Through the Cocoa Certification Project, he announced, Kookoo-Pa has introduced cassava and plantain production and educated cocoa farmers on the proper ways to farm.

He said plans were in the pipeline by Kookoo-Pa to introduce pig farming, among other projects geared towards enhancing the lives of cocoa farmers and sustaining the production of cocoa in the country.

CEO of Cocobod, Dr Stephen Opuni, implored cocoa farmers to abide by acceptable standards in their various farms so as to increase their yields.