New COCOBOD Bill: Protecting cocoa should not come at the cost of farmers’ rights 

A law designed to prevent cocoa farms from being destroyed for illegal mining should not inadvertently criminalise legitimate agricultural diversification or impose unreasonable administrative burdens on farmers making lawful decisions about their own land.

Rather than criminalising legitimate land-use decisions, Government should intensify enforcement against illegal mining syndicates, improve producer prices, support the rehabilitation of ageing farms, expand agricultural extension services, and invest in climate-smart cocoa production.

The concern becomes even more profound when Clause 81 is read together with Clause 110, which reportedly makes it a criminal offence for a farmer to convert a cocoa farm to another crop or land use without complying with the requirements of the Act.