Govt Plans Pension Scheme For Farmers

Friday August 07, 2009
By Edmund Mingle

President John Evans Atta Mills yesterday declared his administration’s unflinching support for cocoa, coffee and sheanut farmers, emphasising that necessary measures would be implemented to improve the sector and their welfare.

As a demonstration of that commitment, the President said the government was considering the establishment of a pension scheme to cater for the welfare of the farmers in their old age.

Addressing national executives of the Ghana Cocoa, Coffee and Sheanut Farmers Association who called on him at the Castle, Osu, the President said since their sector represented the foundation of the national economy, “the needed support should be given to those who work to sustain the economy.”

He said more assistance and motivation would be given them to give of their best.Besides, he said, incentives would be provided to encourage the youth to go into cocoa farming in which over 600,000 Ghanaians were currently engaged.

“I can assure you that we will make the sector attractive to the youth,” the President said, adding that the involvement of more youth in the sector would provide effective replacement for the ageing farmers of the three cash crops.

He further gave the assurance that the cocoa producer price would be adjusted upwards at the appropriate time for the cocoa season.

“You continue to do a lot for the economy and the least we can do is to support you to contribute more,” he said.
He promised that the concerns would be looked into so as to remove the bottlenecks adversely affecting their performance and welfare.

Alhaji Imoro Issifu Alhassan, acting secretary of the association, presenting the farmers’ concerns to the President, called for a re-organised mass cocoa spraying exercise to make the exercise more effective and efficient.

He lauded the government initiative to partner the private sector for an enhanced extension service to farmers, and encouraged the government to speed up action on that initiative, describing it as very critical for the farmers.
He pledged the association’s preparedness to partner the government to curb the smuggling of cocoa and fertilizer to neighbouring countries.

“The association will not hesitate to expose any member found to be engaged in such activities,” he assured and urged government to institute a reward scheme that would motivate farmers to expose those involved in the smuggling of the chemical and produce.

Touching on the sheanut industry, Alhaji Alhassan called for the establishment of a separate board for sheanut to oversee the effective management of the sheanut industry, currently under the Cocoa Board.
He also called for more attention to the coffee industry which, he said, was the most neglected among the three cash crops.