Our first stop in the community was a visit to cocoa farmer Abdul Razak and his family. Mr. Razak farms more acreage than anyone else in the community, and he was gracious enough to spend over an hour with us answering our many questions.
When Kristy asked Mr. Razak what had changed in farming in the last decade, he responded that the soil has lost many of its nutrients so he has to use "inputs" (fertilizer & pesticides)more often. Where he was applying fertilizer and spraying pesticides twice a year, he now does it monthly.
The COCOBOD offers input support once a year, but that is not adequate given the state of the soil and the age of the trees. The farmers have to purchase these additional inputs themselves. The nearest village where he can purchase fertilizer is 10 kilometers away and the nearest village where he can purchase pesticides is 25 kilometers away. Not only is he spending a lot more money on inputs, he doesn't have his own transportation to pick up the inputs in these locations that are far away from his village.
Mr. Razak offered a solution. He said that he would like to see donors or governments subsidize inputs or create a fund that would subsidize inputs.
So I leave you with Mr. Razak's request and a suggestion. If you visit a cocoa farm in Ghana, bring the farmer a gift of fertilizer and pesticides. If the idea of supporting the addition of pesticides to cocoa gives you pause, I leave you with a thought. While you may not wish to consume pesticides yourself, they are a critical resource for the livelihood and survival of Ghana cocoa farmers.
If you've enjoyed this portrait of a cocoa farmer in Ghana, I recommend reading Dr. Leissle's cocoa farmer interview series, "I am a cocoa farmer" for Confectionery News. In her first farmer profile she illustrates the revenues, costs & reinvestment required for the interviewee and offers his estimate of how much more income would make a significant difference in his life.
