Deputy Minister-Designate for Food and Agriculture, John Dumelo, has stressed the importance of better cocoa pricing to prevent farmers from leasing their lands to illegal miners. He made this statement during his vetting before Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Tuesday, February 25.
Dumelo highlighted the growing trend of cocoa farmers surrendering their farms to illegal small-scale miners in exchange for large sums of money. He attributed this to the low prices offered for cocoa in the country, which compels farmers to seek financial alternatives through mining deals.
To address this issue, Dumelo advocated for competitive pricing for cocoa farmers, which would encourage them to protect their farmlands. He also called for stricter regulations in the mining sector to prevent destructive activities that negatively impact agriculture.
“The second one is also to restructure or structure the whole mining industry well so that wherever they mine, it wouldn’t be able to affect these cocoa farms. But I think that the main one is about pricing,” he added.
