Mahama stings gov’t over producer price of cocoa.

The flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has criticised the government's recent increase in the producer price of cocoa, stating it is taking advantage of hardworking farmers. 
 
In a Facebook post, Mahama argued that considering the current international market price of cocoa, which has reached a record high of $3,600, the government should have offered farmers a fairer percentage of the international FOB price. 
 
He expressed disappointment that the government has decided to provide farmers with only GH¢1,308 per bag, which amounts to just 52.7% of the FOB price on the international market. 
 
Mahama believes this increment is unjust to cocoa farmers, who have struggled since the NPP assumed power in 2017. In contrast, he stated during the NDC government's tenure in 2016, cocoa farmers received 66.06% of the FOB price of cocoa in addition to benefits such as free fertiliser and seedlings. 
 
Mahama insists that the government should have built on the NDC foundation instead of increasing the Ghana Cocoa Board's operational expenses and reducing what it is paying cocoa farmers.