'Galamsey' activities destroy 19,000 hectares of cocoa plantations – Report

Illegal mining activities impact cocoa plantations

Ghana’s cocoa harvest outlook to be affected by galamsey activities – COCOBOD

Ghana’s cocoa output declined by 34% in first six months of the season

Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board, Fiifi Boafo, has disclosed that more than 19,000 hectares which is about 2 percent of cocoa plantations have been damaged by artisanal miners operating illegally.

Cocoa is the third biggest foreign-exchange earner for Ghana after gold and oil.

Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg, Mr Boafo said these illegal mining activities also known as 'galamsey' are likely to worsen the outlook for Ghana’s cocoa harvest which is about 850,000 tons this year.

“This will definitely have an effect on the crop outlook,” Mr Boafo is quoted by Bloomberg.

Although he declined to give an output forecast for cocoa harvest, the COCOBOD PRO said the practice of illegal small-scale mining is rather intensifying despite efforts by the Government of Ghana to curtail the menace.

He also added that some gold mining firms with licenses have began to encroach on cocoa growing farms.

Meanwhile, Ghana’s cocoa production continues to suffer sustained spells of farm drought and the effects of swollen shoot disease which has affected many farms.

Ghana’s cocoa output, according to a Bloomberg report declined by 34 percent in the first six months of the current season as compared with the same period in 2021.

Stakeholders in the cocoa value chain have urged government to review its measures in curbing galamsey activities in water bodies and cocoa farms.

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