Ghana, the world's second-largest cocoa producer, faces increasing risks to its bean crop from illegal miners and smugglers, according to industry officials, farmers and environmentalists.
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As Ghana endures one of the worst economic crises in its history, with inflation hitting 26.4% in November, illegal mining, known locally as “galamsey,” is posing a major problem for cocoa farming, which is one of the pillars of the national economy alongside gold and oil.
“In the last five years, we have witnessed severe destruction on cocoa plantations due to the activities of illegal miners,” says Michael Kwarteng, director of anti-illegal mining activities at the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD).
“This has reached alarming proportions,” he emphasizes.
Given the economic crisis, more and more producers are selling their land to illegal miners, such as Rita Abena Koranteng, 45, a cocoa farmer in Suhum in eastern Ghana who gave two of her lands to her uncle so he can exploit the underground.
“He pays me $500 every month and I’m happy because I could never have made that much money growing cocoa,” she explains.
“I know that some of my fellow cocoa farmers in the western region and elsewhere have switched to rubber plantations because they are not earning enough from cocoa,” she claims.
The government, which buys up all of the country's production before selling it on to private companies, agreed this year to a 63% increase in the price paid to producers, but that is not enough to stop them from selling their land for non-profit declared mining purposes for sale. He currently buys a ton of cocoa from producers for $1,822 (1,670 euros).
“To date, the area lost to illegal mining represents 2% of the total cocoa cultivation area in Ghana. “We can’t allow this to happen any longer,” fears Michael Kwarteng.
According to COCOBOD, Ghana harvested 1 million tonnes of cocoa between 2020 and 2021. However, for the 2022-2023 crop, this number drops to 750,000 tons, and the forecast for 2023-2024 varies between 650,000 and 700,000 tons due to the impact of illegal activities.
“Time Bomb”
In addition to the loss of agricultural land, mining activities also contribute to the pollution of rivers and groundwater due to the use of chemicals in extraction.
Obed Owusu-Addai, an activist with EcoCare Ghana, an organization that works for farmers' welfare, believes the government still needs to improve prices and farmers' living standards.
“We are sitting on a time bomb as a country,” he says.
“If this problem is not solved immediately, we will end up losing most of our land to illegal mining,” he added.
Benjamin Tei Larweh, deputy communications director at COCOBOD, says the organization has started offering cash rewards to people who report illegal mining on cocoa-growing areas, as well as bean smuggling, another problem for the sector.
“In 2022, Ghana lost about 150,000 tonnes of cocoa beans to smuggling with our neighbors, representing a colossal loss of income of $600 million,” he said.
Another challenge for the industry: climate change, which also has a strong impact on cocoa cultivation.
Six major regions of Ghana grow the valuable bean: the Eastern, Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Central, Volta and Western regions.
But due to fluctuating rainfall and declining soil fertility, production has shifted westward. The Western Region is now Ghana's largest cocoa producer, accounting for 43% of total cocoa production.