Ghana’s fight against illegal mining is no longer just destroying cocoa farms but also erasing millions of cedis invested by the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to restore ageing and diseased plantations.
COCOBOD officials say rehabilitated farms that received public support under cocoa rehabilitation programmes are increasingly being taken over by illegal miners before they can generate the higher yields the investments were designed to deliver.
The destruction, they warn, is undermining efforts to revive cocoa production while threatening one of Ghana’s most important sources of export revenue.
Speaking during the Cocoa Farmers Support Programme organised by the Gold Fields Ghana Foundation at Samshu in the Western Region, Regional Manager of COCOBOD’s Cocoa Health and Extension Division, Samuel Asuman, said the country had already lost more than 100,000 acres of productive cocoa farms across the Ashanti, Western and Central regions.
The concern extends beyond the land itself.
COCOBOD has spent years rehabilitating farms affected by swollen shoot disease, replacing diseased trees, distributing improved planting materials and supporting farmers to restore productivity.
Those investments are now being destroyed.
“When you visit some districts, you will be surprised by the extent to which galamsey activities are destroying farms that COCOBOD has invested so much to restore,” Mr Asuman said.
Public Investment Going to Waste
Rehabilitating cocoa farms requires significant public resources.
The process involves clearing infected farms, supplying improved seedlings, supporting farmers through the replanting period and providing extension services until the new trees become productive.
When illegal mining destroys those farms, the losses extend beyond the farmers.
The destruction wipes out years of public investment while delaying the recovery of cocoa production that rehabilitation programmes were intended to achieve.
For a sector already battling ageing plantations, disease and climate-related pressures, the loss represents another setback to efforts to rebuild national output.
Lower Production, Lower Foreign Exchange
Mr Asuman warned that continued destruction of cocoa farms is contributing to declining national production.
Lower cocoa output translates directly into lower export earnings, reducing the foreign exchange Ghana receives from one of its most valuable agricultural commodities.
It also weakens COCOBOD’s finances, limiting its ability to service financial obligations and fund programmes designed to improve productivity and support cocoa farmers.
The warning comes at a time when Ghana has been working to recover cocoa production after several difficult seasons marked by disease outbreaks, adverse weather and illegal mining.
A Short-Term Gain With Long-Term Costs
Deputy Executive Director of COCOBOD’s Cocoa Health and Extension Division, Abdul-Majia Mumuni, urged farmers not to exchange productive cocoa farms for the immediate cash offered by illegal miners.
“Cocoa remains one of Ghana’s most valuable economic commodities,” he said.
“There is a future for the cocoa sector, and under no circumstances should farmers give out their cocoa farms for illegal mining activities.”
He said the Government and COCOBOD are strengthening measures to protect cocoa-growing areas, including tougher sanctions against activities that destroy cocoa farms.
Communities Face Difficult Choices
Prestea Huni-Valley MP Robert Wisdom Cudjoe acknowledged that some farmers continue to lease or sell cocoa lands to illegal miners because of the immediate financial returns.
However, he argued that the decision sacrifices a sustainable source of income for short-term gains.
While illegal mining may generate quick cash, he said, cocoa farming provides livelihoods that can support families for generations if farms are protected and productivity is maintained.
More Than an Environmental Problem
The destruction of rehabilitated cocoa farms points to a broader economic challenge.
Every farm lost to illegal mining represents lost production, lost export revenue and lost public investment.
For COCOBOD, the concern is no longer simply protecting cocoa trees.
It is protecting the significant investment already made to restore Ghana’s cocoa sector—and ensuring those investments deliver the harvests they were intended to produce.
