Cocoa Price Cuts: Farmers have been scammed – NPP’s Kwaku Afriyie
Former New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Sefwi-Wiawso, Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, has taken a swipe at the current NDC administration for the recent cocoa price cuts, accusing it of deceiving farmers.
According to him, all explanations given by the government for the price reduction are just attempts to divert public attention from its failed promise to put the “cocoa farming communities on its priority list.”
“We are talking about ethics and morality. Why would a government make promises it cannot fulfil? That is what makes me think that the electorate and our farmers have been scammed,” he argued on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem on Monday.
He further argued that if President John Dramani Mahama is genuinely committed to his “reset” agenda, all reforms must start with what he described as fundamental changes in attitude and institutional behavior.
“If Mahama is talking about resetting, he should start resetting the minds and the industries. It is not philosophy. If we reset our minds, there is nothing we cannot do,” Dr. Afriyie stated. “Whatever is happening now is a lack of morality and ethics. This is pure dishonesty.”
The former MP also accused the current NDC administration of “opportunistic politicking” when they were in opposition, asserting that they deliberately ignored the same market dynamics they now speak of just to score political points against the past NPP administration.
“When they were accusing the former president of harming farmers, they did not talk about average prices or day-to-day fluctuations. They used spot prices for political advantage, which is gross dishonesty because that is not what they promised,” he claimed.
Dr. Afriyie lamented that the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has deviated from its original mandate, asserting that while the institution has more than enough experts, their input is being ignored in the management of the country’s cocoa sector.
“The reason COCOBOD was set up has been defeated. The assumption is that cocoa prices will always rise, but that is not the case. There are experts there, but they have refused to use them. It is not rocket science,” he remarked.
While acknowledging that price fluctuations are sometimes unavoidable, Dr. Afriyie urged government to ensure that any adjustments are modest enough to protect farmers from the full force of global market shocks.
“At least, even if you will deviate, you should deviate a little so cocoa farmers can be shielded from commodity shocks,” he advised. “I know Ato Forson and Mahama Ayariga. They know the truth about this whole market thing and it is a systems failure that clashed with politics. They should come clean and apologise.”
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