The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has urged Ghanaians to reject the candidature of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer, John Mahama, for the sake of the health of the cocoa sector.
At a press conference on Monday afternoon, the governing party asserted that for Mr. Mahama, “cocoa is just an avenue for corruption; leaving the industry and the farmer to suffer.”
“Our humble warning to cocoa farmers, their dependants and all well-meaning Ghanaians is this: keep candidate Mahama’s hands away from your cocoa,” Yaw Buaben Asamoa, the NPP’s Director of Communications said during the press conference.
The governing party insists that “when it comes to the well-being and welfare of the Ghanaian farmer, candidate Mahama is dangerous.
“He does not know how to manage the economy. He does not know how to help the cocoa industry. He has no clue what the needs of the farmers are.”
In contrast, the NPP said its party and President Akufo-Addo can be trusted “to protect the progress made so far to transform the industry for the welfare and well-being of all Ghanaians.”
Mr. Asamoa said, “the cocoa sector is another area where the President has demonstrated strong leadership and initiative.”
As an example, he cited the International community price Support System which has allowed “our farmers to now earn an additional income through a $400 premium on the world price of cocoa.
In one of the most significant interventions for the cocoa sector, Ghana raised its farm gate price for cocoa by 21 percent after implementing the $400 per metric ton premium on future prices for the 2020-21 harvest.
This has been called the Living-Income Differential.
Ghana is the world’s second-largest producer of the crop and its farmers will receive GHS625 per 64-kilogram bag, or GHS10,000 per ton, for the harvest season that began this October.
This compares to GHS515 per bag and GHS8,240 per ton in the previous season.
