COCOA FARMERS in some farming communities of the Eastern Region are calling on the government to release funds to the local buying companies (LBCs) to enable them to pay for their produce.
The farmers from the Upper West Akim, Lower West Akim, Birim Central and Ayensuano districts respectively expressed their challenges and worries to the journalists and threatened to cut down their cocoa farms for rubber plantations if their appeal was not heeded.
According to the farmers, the lack of money at cocoa buying companies was causing a lot of financial constraints to farmers as they sought to settle their wards school fees, among other things.
Some who spoke to this reporter said income from their cocoa the produce they sold was their only source of income used to finance their children’s education.
They said even though there is Free Senior High School, some amount of money was still needed for provisions and more importantly fees for those in the tertiary institutions.
However, majority of LBCs in the region have not been able to meet the demands of their farmers in terms of payment for the sale of cocoa produce.
They said life had been tough and difficult for them since Christmas, adding that “When they send their cocoa produce for money, the purchasing clerks tell them there is no money.”
“Our problem is that the purchasing clerks are not getting money to pay us. I don’t even know how to get money for my son’s school fees. We are pleading with the government to intervene,” one of them pleaded.
FROM Daniel Bampoe, Koforidua