Cocoa farmers at Sefwi Boako in the Western Region have cautioned the nation’s cocoa mother company, COCOBOD to pay them their compensation for destroying their cocoa trees affected with the swollen shoot disease.
In an interview with Mr. Kwasi Obour a cocoa farmer in the region, he said sometime back, COCOBOD came to inform them that their farms were affected with the swollen shot disease which was the reason behind the crops failure to produce quality cocoa beans. In order to check the destructive nature of the disease, they agreed to cut down their cocoa trees and pay compensation to them but their efforts to retrieve the money have yielded no results so far, compelling them to voice out their frustrations.
According to Mr. Obour the farmers depended on their farms for survival and so the destruction of their crops which has rendered them unemployed has become a blow to them. According to him, their promise to provide them with cocoa seedlings has not been fulfilled.
He further stated that the NDC government should not come there to campaign if their compensations are not paid because they voted massively for them.
Source:ritefmonline.org
