Squeezed by EU Rules and Threat of Illegal Mining, Cocoa Farmers in Ghana Face a Turning Point
Detailed summary
As illegal gold mining destroys thousands of hectares of Ghanaian forest, a new EU deforestation law aims to clean up the chocolate supply chain. Yet with gold exempt from the…
As illegal gold mining destroys thousands of hectares of Ghanaian forest, a new EU deforestation law aims to clean up the chocolate supply chain. Yet with gold exempt from the same rules, experts warn the regulation risks overburdening smallholders while failing to stop environmental destruction.
At daybreak in Begoro, in Ghana’s Eastern Region, Sammy Takyi walks slowly between rows of young cocoa trees. The soil is still cool. Broad plantain leaves hang above the tender seedlings, filtering the early morning light and shielding them from the heat that will come later in the day.
For five years, his two-hectare farm has tested his patience. Cocoa is not a crop that yields rewards quickly. It requires four to five years of care before the first meaningful harvest. During those long waiting seasons, Sammy plants plantain among the cocoa trees.
“You don’t just plant cocoa and wait,” he told…
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