GCCP commends COCOBOD

Ho, June 28, GNA - The Ghana Civil-Society Cocoa Platform (GCCP) has commended the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) and its counterpart in Cote d’Ivoire, Le Camseil du Café-Cacao (CCC) for agreeing on a floor price (minimum price) of $2,600.00 per tonne of cocoa beans, which it proposed to buyers, processors and chocolate manufacturers.

GCCP, in a statement signed by Mr Mohammed Tajudeen, its Communication Officer and copied to the Ghana News Agency, applauded the two institutions, for jointly deciding on a floor price for the first time.

It acknowledged the various processes that yielded that result, including the initial engagements between governments of Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire that had deepened cooperation between the two regulators, COCOBOD and CCC.

The Platform envisaged the milestone would realise a direct and obvious change in the farm gate price of cocoa beans, such that farmers income and living standard would improve, directly contributing to the attainment of several of the global development goals (SDGs) One,  Two,  Three, Four, Eight and 13.

"The floor price is very paramount to the livelihoods of cocoa famers, especially in the wake of the debate on living income for cocoa farmers.

"We believe that this development is in the best interest of cocoa farmers and their households, since it will at least, offer the farmer a fair share of the wealth that the cocoa industry generates," it said.

The statement called on the international cocoa sector to support the governments of Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire to push for the implementation of the floor price.

"More importantly, we call on our brothers and sisters from civil society in other cocoa producing countries to stand in solidarity with us and ask their governments to support this minimum price for all cocoa farmers," the statement added.

It said the GCCP believed the upcoming technical meeting with stakeholders to fine tune the full implementation of the floor price on the global cocoa market, slated for July 3, 2019, would prove that farmers were at the centre of the initiative and must benefit.

The statement however entreated COCOBOD to declare its strategies and mechanisms to curb the possible imbalances in the cocoa sector as a result of the floor price as part of the upcoming meeting.

The Ghana Civil-Society Cocoa Platform (GCCP) is an independent campaign and advocacy platform for civil society actors in the cocoa sector- comprising of Civil Society Organizations, Non-governmental Organizations, Community-based Organizations, Farmer -based Organizations, Farmers Associations, Media and interested individuals.

The main aim of the platform is to advocate and influence cocoa sector policies and programmes.

GCCP is currently being hosted by SEND Ghana, with membership across the country, especially in cocoa growing areas.

GNA

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