The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCO­BOD) has stated its readiness to intensify its efforts to combat cocoa smuggling across the country’s bor­ders with support from the military.

According to the Board, it was overwhelmed by the increasing cases of cocoa smuggling activities in the country.

The Chief Executive of the COCOBOD, Joseph Boahen Aidoo, disclosed this to the journal­ists after meeting cocoa farmers from growing areas at GNAT Hall in Kumasi, last Friday.

“We have written to the Minis­ter of Defense, requesting military intervention, while the police and other security forces have been assisting,” he stress.

Aidoo noted that there had been several arrests related to cocoa smuggling and “recently cocoa being transported out of the country in tankers for fuel was intercepted.”

He mentioned that the military involvement was now necessary to address the issue more effectively and indicated that, “the military has expressed readiness to lead the operation and the Defense Ministry is fully aware” adding that COCOBOD would sponsor the national anti-cocoa smuggling campaign.

The stakeholder consultative dialogue aimed at fostering Ghana’s cocoa sector which had in recent years been fraught with financial and environmental challenges.

Additionally, he noted that the intensified exercise was crucial for safeguarding the country’s cocoa export industry, and to also ensure that it meets its international export targets.

He expressed confidence that the military’s intervention would help curb the problem, and assured of the government’s commitment to protecting the cocoa sector and would do everything to prevent its collapse.

Aidoo used the occasion to allay the fears of cocoa farmers and Ghanaians about the looming Eu­ropean Union (EU) regulation on deforestation that takes effect from December 30, 2024.

Moreover, he said the defor­estation regulation that came into force on June 29, 2023, required companies trading in cattle, co­coa, coffee, oil palm, rubber, soya and wood, as well as products derived from these commodities, to conduct extensive diligence on the value chain.

This, he said, was to ensure the goods did not result from recent (post 31 December 2020) deforestation, forest degradation or breaches of local environmen­tal and social laws.

He said companies should consider the impact of the defor­estation regulation on their supply chain due diligence to prepare for the new obligations.

Aidoo mentioned that Ghana was really prepared because, “it is the only cocoa growing country in Africa with a traceability system to track prod­ucts from the forests in order to curb the EU market’s impact on global deforestation and forest degradation.”