Rubber farmers in Ghana’s Western Region are calling on the Tree Crop Development Authority (TCDA) to urgently license and regulate the rubber production value chain to unlock the sector’s full economic potential and drive inclusive growth.
Speaking on behalf of farmers in the Nzema enclave, Mr. Yirenkyi Ansah said that the absence of regulatory oversight has allowed local processors to exploit rubber farmers with unfair pricing and delayed payments, pushing some producers to abandon their plantations for illegal mining activities.
“The current system is not working for us. Many factories rely solely on smallholder farmers for raw rubber but are unwilling to pay fair prices that reflect production costs. This is destroying livelihoods and discouraging investment in the sector,” he said.
Mr. Ansah explained that although some factories have minimal plantation holdings, they operate at capacities far beyond what their farms can sustain, leading them to rely heavily on aggregators and traders to meet their supply needs. Yet these same processors, he noted, fail to support the farmers with predictable pricing, timely payments, or adequate infrastructure.
“These challenges are undermining the rubber sector’s capacity to support rural economies, create jobs, and feed Ghana’s industrial ambitions. Farmers are losing interest. Some have already sold their farms to illegal miners because the returns are no longer viable,” he lamented.
The farmers stressed that with proper regulation and investment, the rubber industry could become a major engine of economic growth, especially for the Western, Central, and Ashanti Regions, where rubber cultivation thrives.
A functional, regulated rubber sector, they argued, would attract more investment into processing, increase export earnings, and generate employment along the value chain, from tapping to processing and export.
“We need the TCDA to step in now. By licensing and monitoring the activities of processors, aggregators, and traders, we can protect the interests of smallholder farmers and stimulate economic activity in rural communities,” they urged.
They further called for transparent pricing frameworks, the enforcement of fair trading practices, and the provision of financing and technical support for local producers to scale operations and meet industrial demand.
Importantly, Ghana has the potential to expand its rubber sector into a billion-dollar industry through value addition, improved planting material, and the development of local processing capacity.
But this potential remains largely untapped due to the absence of clear policy direction, reliable markets, and investor confidence.
Nonetheless, rubber could serve as a strategic commodity to support domestic manufacturing, boost exports, and strengthen the cedi.
