The National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) spokesperson for agriculture, Ahmed Alhassan Yakubu, has requested that political parties, especially the New Patriotic Party (NPP) should desist from using the cocoa industry to score political points during this campaign season.
In a press conference yesterday, the Director of Communications of the NPP, Yaw Buaben Asamoa, stated that cocoa farmers are enjoying more incentives under the Akufo-Addo administration compared to the tenure of the former president. According to him, the NPP has initiated policies that have improved the cocoa sector.
Ahmed Yakubu speaking in relation to this event told Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning Show, “I really wish our agricultural sector especially the cocoa sector does not have to be a political football that we have to, on campaign season, begin to compare areas because that does not really respond to the need of the farmer or sector but it just seems to be making political capital and so much talk we engage in”.
Reacting to the claims that NPP initiated projects, Ahmed Yakubu noted: “What do they mean by policies after being in power for four years? When they talk about policies, it is something that surprises me because they ought to be talking about results, projects and programmes based on whatever is already going on in the sector or improvements they have brought”.
Cocoa Industry politics
Conversations around cocoa production by the two major political parties amid the 2020 campaign period have been narrowed down to the provision of fertilizers to Cocoa farmers.
In 2016, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo promised to subsidize cocoa fertilizers whereas former President John Mahama insisted that the fertilizers have been free under his administration.
There have been claims, however, that the free fertilizers by the NDC were diverted to other West African countries and as such Ghanaian farmers who were to be the direct beneficiaries of the free fertilizers have not benefitted.
Under the current Nana Addo administration, the free fertilizer programme has been suspended as the government has ensured subsidies in cocoa fertilizers.
Meanwhile, former President John Mahama has said that his administration will re-introduce the free fertilizer programme for cocoa farmers if elected. According to him, cocoa farmers have been burdened under the current administration as they self-finance their fertilizer purchases.
By: Alberta Dorcas N D Armah
