Government Last Thursday announced an interim bonus of ?16,000 per bag or ?250,000 per metric ton, amounting to ?80 billion as bonus to farmers for cocoa purchases as at the end of December, last year.

The current bonus is besides government authorised payment of a pre-season bonus of over ?41.0 billion to cocoa farmers in October 2002.

Mr. Yaw Osafo-Maafo, who was presenting the 2003 Budget to parliament, said the bonus to farmers was in fulfillment of government’s promise to pass on any benefits realised from price appreciation as result of changes on the world market.

He reiterated government commitment to increasing the farmer’s share of the free on board (F.O.B) price of cocoa to reach the target of 70 per cent by the year 2004-2005 season.

“At the beginning of the 2002-2003 season, Government increased the producer price by 37 per cent from ? 6.2 million to ?8.5 million per tome which, together with the payment of bonus would represent 68.11 per cent of the achieved f.o.b price per tonne.”

Mr. Osafo-Maafo said in increasing the producer price of cocoa, Government was mindful of the unstable developments in the market, which had forced the world prices of the commodity to soar.

He said the current price level on the world market was reflecting an element of uncertainty as developments in the sub-region had influenced it.

In spite of this Government would pursue a pacing policy, which would guarantee and protect farmer’s incomes through sustainable prices.

“ Rewards to farmers in line with unusual upward movement in prices would thus take the form of bonus payments while maintaining steady improvements in producer prices based on market fundamentals,” he said, and added that a Special Equalising Account for bonus payments had been opened.

Mr. Osafo-Maafo said a review of the policy on the partial liberalisation of external marketing of cocoa would be carried out with aim to assessing the maximum revenue that could be derived from cocoa exports, the macroeconomic impact of the sales and finding arrangements as well as the benefits to the farmers within the context of the partial liberalisation.

The Minister said the cocoa industry last year contributed ? 8.9 billion to improve feeder roads in the cocoa growing areas. This was expected to increase to ?150.0 billion this year.

Mr. Osafo-Maafo said the Government had increased the support to the Cocoa Board scholarship Fund by ?10.0 billion from ? 5.0 billion last year to make more scholarship awards available to coca farmer’s children and wards