Opanyin Kwadwo Yeboah, a cocoa farmer and purchasing clerk, has refuted official claims that farmers and clerks have been paid.
He noted that, contrary to government assertions, authorities have yet to settle debts owed to them since November 2025.
The delay, he lamented, has brought “untold financial hardship” upon the farming community.
Speaking in an interview on Frontline on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM, Opanyin Yeboah emphasized the urgent need for the government to settle all outstanding arrears.
He highlighted that without these payments, farmers are unable to care for their families or pay school fees for their children.
The lack of available funds has also created a bottleneck in the supply chain. He revealed that because purchasing clerks lack the capital to pay farmers, many farmers are being turned away with their produce. In some cases, cocoa has been bought on credit and stored at depots with no funds available to complete the transactions.
Opanyin Yeboah provided a stark account of the current situation saying “Since November, we have not had the money to pay the farmers. We had to ask them to take their bags of cocoa back home because we don’t have the funds to compensate them. The cocoa farmers are struggling, so we want the government to tell us what is going on. The farmers should be told the truth: we have not been paid.”
The clerk further revealed that while they initially received information that money would be available, the funds never materialized, leaving purchased cocoa sitting idle at depots.
He added that the larger companies purchasing from the clerks are also reportedly refusing to take on more stock, even returning bags they had previously purchased.
“As a clerk, I have had to ask farmers to return their bags of cocoa because I don’t have the money to pay them. This situation has affected the entire chain—from the farmers and clerks to the major companies that buy from us.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
