On March 28, her cocoa farm was contaminated with toxic substances and was dotted with reddish-brown puddles. The photo shows cacao fruit. Photographed in February at a farm in Osino, Ghana (2024 Reuters/Francis Kokoroko)
[サムレボイ（ガーナ） ２８日 ロイター] – Her cocoa farm was contaminated with toxic substances and was dotted with reddish-brown puddles. It was left behind by illegal gold miners. The farm’s owner, Janet Jamfi, 52, is heartbroken over the desolate landscape.
Until last year, nearly 6,000 cacao trees were planted on this 27-hectare farmland in western Ghana, but fewer than 12 remain.
“This farm was my only means of survival,” says Jamfi, who is divorced and has four children. “I was planning to leave this farm to my children.”
Janet Jamfi laments the state of her cocoa farm, which has been destroyed by illegal gold mining. Photographed in February (2024 Reuters/Francis Kokoroko)
Ghana in West Africa and neighboring Ivory Coast have long been “cocoa superpowers,” accounting for over 60% of the world’s total cocoa supply. However, this season, the yield has fallen catastrophically. Cocoa beans, the raw material for chocolate, are expected to be in short supply, and the price of cocoa futures on the New York market has more than doubled since the beginning of the year. Market prices are hitting record highs almost every day, and there are no signs of the upward trend changing.
Reuters interviews with more than 20 farmers, experts and industry officials said the decline in Ghana’s cocoa production is due to a number of factors, including rampant illegal gold mining, climate change, industry mismanagement, and the rapid spread of diseases that are killing cocoa. It has become clear that a variety of factors are involved.
According to data from 2018 exclusively obtained by Reuters, Ghana’s government agency Cocoa Board of Directors (COCOBOD) predicts that in the worst case scenario, 590,000 hectares of plantations could be affected by the cocoa swelling virus, which could eventually kill cocoa. It is assumed that he is infected.
Ghana currently has about 1.38 million hectares of cocoa-growing land, which COCOBOD says includes trees that are still producing crops but have already been infected with cocoa swelling virus.
“Production is in a long-term decline,” said Steve Waterridge, a cocoa expert at Tropical Research Services. “It did not fall to the lowest level in eight years,” he said.
Experts say the sharp decline in Ghana’s yields is a problem that cannot be easily solved, has shocked the market and could be the “beginning of the end” of the era when West African countries dominated the cocoa market. Point out.
The effects of the cocoa shortage are already beginning to be felt in the chocolate market. In the U.S., the price of chocolate sold for Easter (Thanksgiving) is more than 10% higher than a year ago, according to data from research firm Nielsen IQ.
Analysts say the West African nation’s sharp harvest decline will not really hit consumers until later this year, as chocolate makers often hedge cocoa prices months before purchasing.
One expert predicted a sharp rise in prices, saying, “Chocolate bars will become a luxury item. Even if you can get them, the price will double.”
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Jamfi lives in the western Samleboi region, which is the center of cocoa production. According to the COCOBOD field office, the area under cocoa cultivation has fallen from about 38,000 hectares three years ago to 15,400 hectares.
According to Jamfi, illegal gold miners started appearing several years ago. Her cocoa farm was suddenly taken over by illegal miners in June last year, and the cocoa trees were dug up by bulldozers. Miners flock to mine gold. The farm became unusable after being contaminated with toxic chemicals, and the loan could not be repaid.
Cocoa farms destroyed by illegal gold mining. Aerial photograph taken from a drone in February (2024 Reuters/Francis Kokoroko)
Jamfi said he called for help from the police and COCOBOD, but there was no response.
A police officer at the local police station testified that he received the complaint but did not remember whether he sent an officer. He declined to confirm the records.
A COCOBOD spokesperson said the legal department would be involved in Jamfi’s case.
Cocoa plantations across Ghana are being overrun by small-scale illegal gold miners. “Now it’s catastrophic. Almost the entire cocoa region has been affected,” said Godwin Kojo Aenor, a development economist specializing in cocoa.
Meanwhile, an increasing number of farmers are willing to sell their farms, according to five farmers and local leaders.
Cocoa farmer Aseeamaha Yeboah has harvested only seven bags of cacao this season, down from 50 bags in 2015. There is a lack of funds and it is difficult to find staff. She declared, “I am ashamed of heaven and earth. If they want to mine my farm, I will sell it.”
Yeboah and other farmers are claiming that COCOBOD is also responsible.
COCOBOD, which is responsible for a wide range of regulation and promotion of the cacao industry, has ballooned in debt. This season, the company struggled to secure operating funds and co-financing.
Distribution of fertilizers and pesticides stopped several years ago. Plans to rejuvenate old trees are at a standstill, and the fight against the cacao swelling virus is losing.
The situation is similar in Ivory Coast, the world’s largest cocoa producing country. Tropical Research Service’s Waterridge estimates that up to 30% of the country’s cocoa farms are infected with cocoa swelling virus.
Experts say that even if cocoa trees are replanted, it will take two to four years for the trees to mature and be able to produce beans.
Meanwhile, researchers predict that cocoa production will become difficult in West African countries due to climate change. Some studies predict that the area most suitable for growing cocoa in Ivory Coast will shrink by more than 50% by the 2050s.
A worker carries a bag containing sun-dried cocoa beans. Photographed in February at a warehouse in Kwaben, Ghana (2024 Reuters/Francis Kokoroko)
Rainfall patterns are already changing, with periods of heavy rain more concentrated and longer periods of hot, dry weather, said Bacary Traore, head of Ivorian forest conservation group IDEF.
Meanwhile, as West African countries struggle with cacao production, rising prices are likely to encourage more cacao planting in other tropical regions, particularly in Central and South America.
VOICE Network’s Fountain and cocoa expert Waterridge predict that Ecuador will overtake Ghana to become the world’s second largest cocoa producer by 2027. Brazil and Peru also have the potential to make strides.
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2024-03-30 02:59:05
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