This NDC government has not treated
the cocoa farmers fairly for not only delayed in paying them as most of these
farmers depend on the proceeds to pay their children school fees, WASSCE
registration fees etc, but not adding a pesewa to the producer prices which
currently stands at GHø3, 392 per tonne. Delaying and maintaining the producer
price in these severe economic hardships is ridiculous, unacceptable and lacks
progressive thinking. Some students from the cocoa growing areas have since not
register for their WASSCE which ends Friday 25th October 2013.

The Independent People Party
(IPP) believes that Ghanaian farmers have been short change with this price and
unnecessary delays.

Production for 2013/14 season is downwardly
forecasted to 830,000 tonnes from 835,410 tonnes in 2012/13 season. The previous
NPP government from the 2001 introduce schemes and initiatives to increase
production from 450000 tonnes in 2001 to 950,000 tonnes in 2008 before ceding
power to NDC and in 2010 production reached little above 1,000,000 tonnes but
have since been on downward slope.

We in IPP want to know

1) Why
our hardworking farmers are getting prices same as last year

2) What
contributed to production short falls?

3) And
what has happened with incentives introduce to boast cocoa production? Such as
mass cocoa spraying exercise, free seedlings etc.

Razak Opoku
General Secretary
Independent Peoples Party
IPP: Yenko nkoaa
IPP: So meha na so meha
0276 29 12 74
www.ippgh.org