The Ghana Agriculture Worker Union (GAWU) has urged the government to address the root issue affecting cocoa production.

The Union acknowledged the merit of increasing cocoa prices but emphasized that the genuine challenge lies in the issue of illegal mining, often referred to as "galamsey."

GAWU's General Secretary, Edward Kareweh, highlighted that farmers are compelled to sell their lands to illegal miners, adversely impacting cocoa production.

Speaking to the media, Mr Kareweh explained that illegal miners often employ aggressive tactics, such as diverting polluted water onto farmlands, making it impossible for farmers to work their fields and forcing them to sell.

He emphasized that the government must address the genuine threat to cocoa production posed by illegal mining. Simply raising cocoa prices won't compete with the income potential from illegal mining.

In essence, GAWU calls for a comprehensive approach to safeguard cocoa farms from encroachment by illegal miners.

“Sometimes, the galamseyers use very ruthless methods to push the farmers to sell their farms to them. For instance, if they decide to channel all their dirty water on your farm, you cannot go to the farm again, and you are forced to sell the farm to them.

“So these are the areas that the government must look at seriously to ensure that the real danger to cocoa production which is galamsey is dealt with otherwise, the government cannot continue to increase cocoa prices to the point where it can compete with the revenue that galamsey will give to the farmers. So as much as increasing the cocoa prices is one way of improving their income, the government also needs to address the encroachment on cocoa farms by galamseyers,” he stated.