The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has strongly criticized the Forestry Commission of Ghana for the destruction of 70 acres of cocoa farms in the Western North Region.
According to reports, the Forestry Commission has already destroyed 42 acres of mature cocoa farms and plans to demolish an additional 30 acres in Asuogya and Adabokrom. This has sparked outrage among local farmers, who claim their farms, cultivated for over 40 years, are under threat.
Prof. Michael Kwateng, Head of the Cocoa Protection Desk at COCOBOD, visited the affected areas following a petition from the farmers.
He explained that while the Forestry Commission claims the land is part of a protected forest reserve, the farmers dispute this, asserting that the land has been in their families for generations. They also pointed to previous court rulings from 1988 and 2016 that favored their ownership.
Despite these rulings, the farmers allege that the Forestry Commission has been extorting money from them and reallocating portions of the land to other individuals for farming in exchange for royalties. Due to current economic hardships, the farmers say they can no longer afford these payments, which they believe prompted the Commission’s actions.
Prof. Kwateng argued that the destruction of the cocoa farms is illegal, as the Forestry Commission bypassed COCOBOD, violating the Economic Plants Protection Act of 1979. He emphasized that only a court has the authority to order the destruction of such farms.
COCOBOD has attempted to resolve the issue with the Forestry Commission, but the situation remains unresolved. Prof. Kwateng questioned why the Forestry Commission did not act during the past 40 years of cocoa cultivation and announced that COCOBOD plans to escalate the matter to their legal department to seek compensation for the destroyed farms.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
