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Oxford Business Group warns Ghana of drop in cocoa production
The warning from the group comes amid a public backlash against government's lukewarm attitude toward dealing with the illegal miners.
The group, in a statement, said the activities of the illegal miners also has a grave impact on the environment which may compromise Ghana's food security.
It said: "Another concern is the proximity of illegal and small-scale mining to cocoa plantations, as heavy metal poisoning and pollution are degrading the land and affecting freshwater and underground aquifers.
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"Weather patterns in sub-Sahara Africa is getting worse making it difficult for the region to achieve its food production target, hence the need to stop degradation of the environment through the activities of galamsey.
“The proliferation of illegal mining also takes an environmental toll, negatively affecting the cocoa segment."
While most of Ghana’s agricultural output was rain-fed, with the drought impacting production across the sector more broadly, cocoa was particularly vulnerable to the harmattan, which dried seeds and eroded yields, the statement said.
Touching on Ghana's cocoa output, it said Ghana’s cocoa production fell short of industry forecasts for the 2015/16 growing season.
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“The latest result is also well below Ghana’s 2014/15 cocoa output, which totalled 730,000 tonnes, below COCOBOD’s forecast of 1m tonnes, due to an outbreak of black pod disease and adverse weather conditions that year”, the statement said.
The low 2014/15 harvest meant that for only the third time in the past decade, cocoa had to be imported from Côte d’Ivoire to cover the shortfall, the statement said.
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