Women cocoa farmers in 3 regions organise 2024 Cocoa Festival 

Women in cocoa farming and cocoa industry layers from the Bono, Bono East and Ahafo regions have organised the 2024 annual cocoa festival at Goaso, the Ahafo regional capital.

Under the umbrella of the Brong Ahafo Women Cooperative Farmers and Marketing Central Union Limited (BAWCOF), the Women in Cocoa Farming group was formed in 2020 to champion, unite and support members to boost their production.

The three regions, which are noted for their massive involvement in agriculture, agribusiness and agro-processing, are actively involved in the production of cocoa.

With their huge potential in the industry, women in these areas have taken the opportunity to venture and invest heavily in the industry.

The union has cultivated 6,857.82 hectares of cocoa, producing 82,923 bags of cocoa beans every farming season.

The union has 7,129 women from 96 cooperatives from the nine cocoa districts in the three regions that have been enrolled into the union.

The 2024 Cocoa Festival brought together hundreds of women in the cocoa industry from the three regions, who showcased some products by the various cooperatives.

It was organised on the theme; “Growing a Gender-Equal Future: Empowering Women and Youth in Agriculture."

The staff of the Cocoa Clinic and other health institutions also provided free medical screening for the participants.

Rehabilitation 

At the festival, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Joseph Boahen Aidoo, disclosed that 74,813 farms, covering 67,385.43 hectares, affected by the cocoa swollen shoot virus disease (CSSVD) had been rehabilitated and were in various stages of growth.

He said out of the figure, 44,480 farms, spanning 40,150.40 hectares owned by 28,510 farmers were yielding as of August 2024 and would soon be handed over to the farm owners.  

He said with funding support from the African Development Bank, COCOBOD had provided financial stipends of GH¢1,000 per hectare each to affected farmers and, where the land was given to a tenant, the same amount was given to their land owners to sustain themselves during the rehabilitation process.

Mr Aidoo however explained that the government through COCOBOD financed the expenditure on tasks and inputs required for the rehabilitation of the CSSVD farms such as undergrowth weeding, cutting of diseased trees and annihilation as well as seedlings and compost application. 

He said the various productivity enhancement programmes, mainly the Cocoa Rehabilitation Programme implemented in 2020 stood out as a vital response to the devastating impact of the CSSVD, as it was revitalising cocoa farms. 

Mr Aidoo said cocoa farms that were once dead, were now back to life; and migrants who deserted their farms and went home in despair were now returning to their farms with joy.

Pruning

Mr Aidoo said COCOBOD had also implemented a nationwide pruning exercise to enhance farm health, and productivity and reduce the spread of diseases. 

"Today, many of our farmers are witnessing yields of up to 800 kilogrammes per hectare, nearly doubling productivity in 2016. This initiative not only strengthens the cocoa trees but also uplifts the spirits of farmers who see tangible results from their hard work," he said.

He said the hand pollination exercise had helped some farmers to produce more yields as high as 3,000 kilogrammes and 4,000 kilogrammes per hectare, positioning them among the world’s top cocoa producers. 

Mr Aidoo said under the initiative, 30,000 youth were trained to pollinate which helped farmers to reap the rewards of enhanced productivity, achieving 50 – 150 pods per tree. 

He said the government had made cocoa farming lucrative to attract the youth who went into illegal mining (galamsey) to venture into cocoa farming.

He stated further that cocoa farms in the regions that had been converted into cashew farms in early 2013 and 2014, had now been reverted to cocoa farms.  

He said Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire had implemented the Living Income Differential (LID), which guarantees an extra $400 per tonne for cocoa farmers to ensure a fairer market and financial security for cocoa farmers.

"This initiative, along with the Ghana-Côte d’Ivoire Cocoa Initiative (CIGCI), is our stand on the global stage to ensure our cocoa is priced fairly," he said. 

Mr Aidoo said COCOBOD was working hard to promote irrigation farming and support year-round farming to stabilise farmers’ income and build resilience in the cocoa sector against climate variability. 

Female farmers 

Touching on women cocoa farmers, Mr Aidoo said COCOBOD was committed to expanding support specifically tailored to the needs of female farmers since they were the backbone of Ghana’s cocoa industry. 

The CEO said COCOBOD had created a Gender and Child Desk, specifically to handle women's and children's affairs and other related matters.  

Mr Aidoo said there were 8,696 functional farmer groups and cooperatives nationwide with a membership of 583,660 farmers. 

He said out of the figure, 202,834 farmers representing 34.76 per cent were women; and in the three regions, there were 23,920 women cocoa farmers. 

Mr Aidoo said average cocoa productivity, which was 450 kilogrammes per hectare before 2017, had been raised to 800 kilogrammes per hectare.

"It is striking to note that the record cocoa productivity of 6.7 tonnes per hectare in Ghana, has been achieved by a woman. The closest any male has come is 4.1 tonnes per hectare," he said.

Galamsey 

The President of BAWCOF, Martha Addai, expressed concern about the issue of galamsey, as their farmlands and water bodies used for spraying their farms had been heavily polluted.

She appealed to the chiefs, who were the custodians of lands, to help resolve the issue of galamsey to enhance their farming activities.

Mrs Addai also raised the issue of smuggling of cocoa to Ghana's neighbouring countries and appealed to the farmers to stop the negative practice. 

She called on COCOBOD to establish an office for the union to facilitate the coordination of their activities.

Critical role 

The Administrator of the Sunyani COCOBOD, Michael P. K. Asumanu, said women played a critical role in the cocoa value chain, contributing significantly to the amount of cocoa produced in the country.

He said over the years, BAWCOF had endlessly been empowering women to take chances in a male-dominated society and to fight to attain gender equality.

"Without a doubt, gender equality is a human right. Women deserve to be treated equally and fairly. We live in a world where women are expected to fulfil their gender roles while at the same time being expected to compete with their male counterparts for economic survival," he said.  

Mr Asumanu said women were involved in several cocoa processing activities, ranging from preparing seedlings to harvesting, drying and selling the beans.

He, however, said their contributions were often not recognised and undervalued.

"Women, unfortunately, face many barriers to equality in cocoa farming, including limited access to resources such as land for farming and limited time because they are overburdened with house chores.

"Discriminatory social norms, perceptions and cultural practices significantly affect women’s engagement with productive activities across the cocoa value chain," he said.

Mr Asumanu said women engaged in cocoa production in the country had higher workloads than their male counterparts, resulting in time poverty for women, which significantly affected their productivity, pushing them into monetary poverty and less time for leisure.

He called on men to support women in cocoa farming even if it meant handling some household chores to give them enough time to concentrate on farming activities.

Mr Asumanu pledged COCOBOD’s commitment to support farmers in the area of inputs, welfare and health. 

Writer's email: biiya.ali@graphic.com.gh