A dramatic increase of illegal mining taking over cocoa production farms in Ghana has led to a shortage of cocoa beans, going as far as creating the near shutdown of processing plants throughout the nation. Although the cocoa bean shortage is also a result of climate change and the saturation of available farming land, the increased pressure on cocoa farmers to sell or lease their lands to illegal miners has further threatened the supply of cocoa. This process is locally known as galamsey. Investors will claim underlying gold deposits, influencing farmers to sell or lease their lands in exchange for financial compensation. Miners will then promptly exploit the area, making it impossible to reverse the damage caused. The galamsey operations are largely unregulated and illegal. They involve sophisticated equipment and harmful chemicals which pose severe environmental and health related risks. Once these mining activities have been completed, these methods make the quality of the land unsuitable for cocoa cultivation. Ghana, historically known for both cocoa and gold, has recently struggled with balancing both economic interests, and the need to preserve environmental and safety concerns in the face of small-scale mining.
Keywords: Sub-Saharan Africa, Ghana, cocoa, minerals, primary production, illegal mining, land grabbing
Source: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2024/mar/analysis-cocoa-beans-short-supply-what-means-farmers-businesses-chocolate-lovers
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/ghana-gold-mining-cocoa-environment
The Cadbury brand, owned by Mondelēz International, is facing allegations of child labour on cocoa farms in Ghana. In April 2022, a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary revealed that children as young as 10 were using machetes to harvest cocoa pods, with some working long hours and not attending school. This comes despite the chocolate industry's 20-year-old pledge to eliminate child labour. In the documentary, children can be seen performing hazardous tasks without protective gear. One girl reported a severe injury from using a machete. However, Ghanaian law prohibits children under 13 from working on cocoa farms and bans hazardous labour for anyone under 18. Despite this, such issues are not contained to Mondelēz farms, with a 2020 study finding that 1.56 million children are involved in cocoa farming in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. Behind this child labour is cocoa farmers' poverty, with farmers earning too little to hire adult workers.
Keywords: Sub-Saharn Africa, Ghana, cocoa, primary production, labour rights violations, child labour
Sources: https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/ghana-documentary-finds-child-labour-on-cocoa-farms-supplying-cadbury-owner-mondel%C4%93z-international/
https://www.theguardian.com/law/2022/apr/03/cadbury-faces-fresh-accusations-of-child-labour-on-cocoa-farms-in-
According to the BFT Online, Ghana Rubber Estates Limited (GREL) suffered a loss of approximately €100,000 in July 2023 due to the destruction of over 19,000 rubber trees on 40 hectares at Gyabengkrom in the Ahanta West Municipality. These trees, planted a year prior to the incident on state land, were meant to replace old ones. However, large-scale damages were discovered during routine checks by the Plantation Development Manager. During the incident, security was present but unable to cover the entire large plantation. A similar incident in 2022 saw 20,000 hectares destroyed without identifying the perpetrators. GREL’s Corporate Affairs Manager, Perry Acheampong, stressed the economic impact and called for the prosecution of those responsible. In addition, the Association of Chiefs on Whose Land GREL Operates (ACLANGO) condemned the vandalism, labelling the acts as barbaric and criminal. Their statement highlighted a troubling trend of illegal land takeovers under the guise of community expansion and “galamsey” (illegal mining). They called for immediate and thorough action by the Ghana Police Service to investigate, arrest, and prosecute the culprits, regardless of their status, to protect investor confidence and maintain peaceful co-existence between GREL and local communities.
Keywords: Sub-Saharan Africa, Ghana, rubber, primary production, land grabbing, illegal mining
Sources: https://thebftonline.com/2023/07/11/grel-loses-about-e100000-on-destruction-of-rubber-trees-in-the-w-region/