Thursday 27th September, 2018
Mr Yaw Biredu Boateng,
the Chief Cocoa Farmer of New Nsutam in the Fanteakwa District of the Easter
Region, said rubber plantations in the Region were given adequate security,
Sept. 27, GNA – Government must ensure that enough security was provided for
cocoa farms, which are being destroyed through the operations of timber
companies and illegal miners, also known as galamsey.
Mr Yaw Biredu Boateng,
the Chief Cocoa Farmer of New Nsutam in the Fanteakwa District of the Easter
Region, said rubber plantations in the Region were given adequate security,
which protected growers from wanton destruction of their rubber trees, adding
that same must be done for cocoa farmers.
He said timber
merchants invaded cocoa farms to fell timber and ended up destroying their
farms, especially when they were carting them.
Mr Boatend said for
the galamsey operators, they used excavators to dig trenches, thereby uprooting
the cocoa trees.
The situation had led
to the dwindling of cocoa trees in the area, he said, and that if care was not
taken inputs to help increase cocoa yield would be a waste due to the nefarious
activities of timber companies and galamsey operators.
“Cocoa is the
back-bone of the Ghanaian economy and there is the need to ensure adequate
security through laws and regulations to protect the cocoa farms and sustain
the economy.”
GNA