Illegal Mining Leaves Tonnes of Cocoa Rotting on Farms in Mfantseman
Several tonnes of harvested cocoa are rotting on farms at Mfantseman in the Upper Denkyira East District of the Central Region following the destruction of the main access road to the farming communities by illegal mining activities.
The damage to the route has made it extremely difficult for farmers to transport their produce from the farms. In addition, open mining pits filled with large volumes of water pose serious safety risks, including the danger of drowning, forcing farmers to carry only small quantities of cocoa at a time while the rest is left to waste.
According to the farmers, the situation has been worsened by the decline in available farm labour. Osei Yaw, a cocoa farmer, told Citi News that many young people who previously engaged in manual labour to transport farm produce have abandoned farming to engage in illegal mining.
“Farmers used to depend on manual labour to cart cocoa from the farms, but most of the youth now prefer galamsey and are no longer available for hire. As a result, much of our produce is left to rot on the farms,” he said.
With manual labour no longer reliable, farmers turned to the use of tricycles to transport their cocoa. However, the destruction of the access roads has rendered even this option ineffective.
Ben Yorke, a former assemblyman for the area and a cocoa farmer, said tricycles can no longer reach the farms, leaving farmers with no alternative but to abandon their produce.
“The tricycles can no longer access the farms, so we are left with no option but to leave the cocoa behind. We are incurring huge losses,” he lamented.
He further warned that cocoa production in the area faces an even greater threat due to severe environmental degradation caused by illegal mining.
“Very soon, our cocoa trees may begin to wither because the rivers and streams we depended on to maintain our farms have been heavily polluted. Some of them can no longer even be traced,” he added.
Despite ongoing anti-galamsey operations in other parts of the country, farmers in the area say their communities have not benefited from any such interventions.
Kwasi Ameyaw, another cocoa farmer, expressed concern over the apparent neglect and appealed to government authorities to intervene.
“We do not understand why none of the security task forces has come here to deal with the galamseyers. This goes beyond a security issue. Our livelihoods are at stake, and we are calling on the government to come to our aid,”
Citi News
