Ghana is likely to miss the 2016 17 cocoa target of between 850,000 and 900,000 production target projected by the Ghana Cocoa Board.
Factors such as climate change which has reduced rainfall in cocoa growing areas, illegal mining activities that have destroyed many cocoa farms, pollution of river bodies and streams with mercury and cyanide and the use of substandard fertilizers and agro chemicals are greatly contributing to the worsening situation.
Even though the CEO of COCOBOD, Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni, is hopeful the country will meet the output target of between 850,000 metric tonnes and 900,000 for the crop season, it is likely this target will not be met.
The CEO has been decrying the impact of the extensive harmattan weather which affects crop production every year. “We must admit that our production target for 2015/2016 cocoa season has been adversely affected by the severe and prolonged dry weather conditions that lasted from December 2015 to March 2016.”
The estimated achievable or realistic target, according to experts at the Cocoa Research Institute is between 650,000 and 700,000 tonnes for the 2016/17 season
The environmental effects of cocoa production, such commonly as herbicide resistance and deforestation are becoming much more severe as demand for cocoa increases in recent times.
Some analysts and traders have argued that Ghana’s financial situation may have exacerbated the cocoa farmers’ problems. Last year growers received their fertilizer and fungicide supplies from Cocobod late, and much of the chemical application proved to be ineffective as it was washed away by the rains, says Edward George, analyst at pan-African bank Ecobank.
Aside that Cocoa husks shriveled by fungal black pod and fat red capsid bugs are feeding on cocoa trees and the chemicals being used to check the situation are said not to be very effective.
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