Cocoa farmers in Segyimase, located in the Abuakwa South Municipality, and Osino, within the Fanteakwa South District of the Eastern Region, attribute the decline in cocoa production to the rampant illegal mining activities and the forcible takeover of cocoa plantations by illegal miners, known locally as ‘galamseyers.’
During interviews with Channel One TV, some farmers revealed that poverty and the government’s lack of support compelled them to sell their cocoa plantations to illegal miners. Eno Lawrencia Akufo recounted losing her cocoa plantation when her son sold it to illegal miners while she was away in the regional capital for medical treatment.
Opanyin Emmanuel Takyi, a former assemblyman and community leader in Segyimase, described the severe impact of illegal mining on his cocoa farms, with a total of 18 acres across three locations being affected.
For the 2023/24 season, Ghana’s cocoa output is projected to be nearly 40% below the target of 820,000 metric tonnes, despite global cocoa prices reaching US$ 10,000 per tonne this year. In the first four months of 2024, the country’s trade balance suffered as cocoa exports declined, with output dropping by about 50% compared to the previous year.
The situation is similarly dire in Osino, where approximately 40 to 50 percent of cocoa plantations have been sold to illegal miners. Overall, about 70 percent of cocoa plantations in Osino have been lost to mining activities.
A visit by the news team to an area that once housed a cocoa plantation along the main Accra Kumasi Highway revealed illegal miners actively working on-site. They had dug deep pits near ECG poles and transmission lines, leaving them uncovered and dangerously close—just about 10 meters—from the highway.
In 2022, the leadership of the Ghana National Small Scale Miners Association, during a working visit to this location, called for the immediate arrest of those mining near the main Accra Kumasi Highway. However, a year later, the situation has deteriorated further, with illegal miners having excavated the entire area, even undermining electricity poles, leaving them precariously suspended.
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