03:46Farmers raised concerns on dwindling cocoa harvests in Ghana's region of Accra due to climate change and social effects, including illegal mining and smuggling.
Footage filmed on Monday shows farmers harvesting beans from cocoa pods at a local plantation and preparing them for the next step of processing.
Environmental advocate Obed Owusu-Addai said that one of the main reasons for the drop in cocoa production is because of climate change.
'We all know that the world is heating up and it is bringing a whole lot of weather changes, especially into tropical countries like Ghana,' he explained. "And Ghana has really suffered over the past few years."
Addai claimed that 'inconsistent rainfall' and diseases brought by climate change "devastated over 300,000 hectares of land that were producing cocoa, especially in the western regions of Ghana."
"If you introduce trees into the landscape, it helps and maintains that microclimate that will allow cocoa to continue to grow on the lands that they are going to produce now," he followed.
He urged the government and Ghana's state regulator Cocobod to address issues of illegal mining by providing incentives for cocoa producers, stating: "Farmers are selling their lands because they are poor and they are not receiving enough money from the cocoa."
The advocate also highlighted smuggling as a factor to lesser harvests, claiming that some farmers are being paid 4,000 Ghanaian Cedis (245 US Dollars) for a bag of cocoa.
Cocobod estimated that approximately 1.38 million hectares of land is used for cocoa cultivation this year with 590,000 hectares of these plantations becoming infected with swollen shoots, a plant virus infecting primarily cacao trees.
This comes ahead of a complaint filed by at least 30 Cocoa growers in Ghana against Cocobod on Thursday citing key environmental and social issues affecting production, including a demand for a 'living income' for farmers.
The complaint also raised concerns over continuing deforestation, child labour and the use of pesticides affecting the world's second largest cocoa producer, according to media reports.
'Ghana has suffered' - Cocoa farmers blame climate change amid dwindling harvests
Farmers raised concerns on dwindling cocoa harvests in Ghana's region of Accra due to climate change and social effects, including illegal mining and smuggling.
Footage filmed on Monday shows farmers harvesting beans from cocoa pods at a local plantation and preparing them for the next step of processing.
Environmental advocate Obed Owusu-Addai said that one of the main reasons for the drop in cocoa production is because of climate change.
'We all know that the world is heating up and it is bringing a whole lot of weather changes, especially into tropical countries like Ghana,' he explained. "And Ghana has really suffered over the past few years."
Addai claimed that 'inconsistent rainfall' and diseases brought by climate change "devastated over 300,000 hectares of land that were producing cocoa, especially in the western regions of Ghana."
"If you introduce trees into the landscape, it helps and maintains that microclimate that will allow cocoa to continue to grow on the lands that they are going to produce now," he followed.
He urged the government and Ghana's state regulator Cocobod to address issues of illegal mining by providing incentives for cocoa producers, stating: "Farmers are selling their lands because they are poor and they are not receiving enough money from the cocoa."
The advocate also highlighted smuggling as a factor to lesser harvests, claiming that some farmers are being paid 4,000 Ghanaian Cedis (245 US Dollars) for a bag of cocoa.
Cocobod estimated that approximately 1.38 million hectares of land is used for cocoa cultivation this year with 590,000 hectares of these plantations becoming infected with swollen shoots, a plant virus infecting primarily cacao trees.
This comes ahead of a complaint filed by at least 30 Cocoa growers in Ghana against Cocobod on Thursday citing key environmental and social issues affecting production, including a demand for a 'living income' for farmers.
The complaint also raised concerns over continuing deforestation, child labour and the use of pesticides affecting the world's second largest cocoa producer, according to media reports.
Farmers raised concerns on dwindling cocoa harvests in Ghana's region of Accra due to climate change and social effects, including illegal mining and smuggling.
Footage filmed on Monday shows farmers harvesting beans from cocoa pods at a local plantation and preparing them for the next step of processing.
Environmental advocate Obed Owusu-Addai said that one of the main reasons for the drop in cocoa production is because of climate change.
'We all know that the world is heating up and it is bringing a whole lot of weather changes, especially into tropical countries like Ghana,' he explained. "And Ghana has really suffered over the past few years."
Addai claimed that 'inconsistent rainfall' and diseases brought by climate change "devastated over 300,000 hectares of land that were producing cocoa, especially in the western regions of Ghana."
"If you introduce trees into the landscape, it helps and maintains that microclimate that will allow cocoa to continue to grow on the lands that they are going to produce now," he followed.
He urged the government and Ghana's state regulator Cocobod to address issues of illegal mining by providing incentives for cocoa producers, stating: "Farmers are selling their lands because they are poor and they are not receiving enough money from the cocoa."
The advocate also highlighted smuggling as a factor to lesser harvests, claiming that some farmers are being paid 4,000 Ghanaian Cedis (245 US Dollars) for a bag of cocoa.
Cocobod estimated that approximately 1.38 million hectares of land is used for cocoa cultivation this year with 590,000 hectares of these plantations becoming infected with swollen shoots, a plant virus infecting primarily cacao trees.
This comes ahead of a complaint filed by at least 30 Cocoa growers in Ghana against Cocobod on Thursday citing key environmental and social issues affecting production, including a demand for a 'living income' for farmers.
The complaint also raised concerns over continuing deforestation, child labour and the use of pesticides affecting the world's second largest cocoa producer, according to media reports.