Over 19,000 Hectares Of Cocoa Farms Lost To Galamsey, COCOBOD Reveals.
The Western South Regional Manager of the Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED) of COCOBOD, Mr. Samuel Asuman, has disclosed that more than 19,000 hectares of cocoa farms have been destroyed by illegal mining activities, describing galamsey as the biggest threat facing Ghana’s cocoa industry.
According to Mr. Asuman, illegal small-scale mining is causing extensive damage to fertile cocoa lands, polluting major water bodies with toxic chemicals and creating labour shortages that continue to affect cocoa production across the country.
He explained that excavators used by illegal miners are stripping away topsoil and leaving behind deep pits on productive cocoa farms, rendering vast areas unsuitable for agriculture.
He noted that over 19,000 hectares, representing more than 100,000 acres of high-yield cocoa plantations, have already been lost in major cocoa-producing regions, including Ashanti, Western and Central Regions.
He made the remarks at Samahu in the Prestea Huni Valley Municipality of the Western Region during the presentation of the Cocoa Farmers Support Programme organized by the Gold Fields Ghana Foundation.
The programme is aimed at increasing cocoa yields, improving household incomes and promoting sustainable livelihoods for farmers in cocoa-growing communities.
For his part, the Executive Secretary of the Gold Fields Ghana Foundation, Mr. Abdel Razak Yakubu, said the Cocoa Farmers Support Programme forms part of the Foundation’s commitment to supporting agricultural development in its host communities.
He explained that the initiative seeks to improve cocoa productivity, increase farmers’ incomes and strengthen long-term livelihood resilience among cocoa farmers living in mining and cocoa-growing areas.
Meanwhile, the Member of Parliament for Prestea Huni Valley, Hon. Robert Wisdom Cudjoe, expressed concern about the growing tendency of some farmers to sell their lands to galamsey operators for immediate financial gains.
Hon. Cudjoe commended the Gold Fields Ghana Foundation for introducing the Cocoa Farmers Support Programme, saying such interventions encourage farmers to remain committed to cocoa cultivation and resist the lure of illegal mining.
Story by Nana Fynn@W/R.
