Accra (AFP) – Ghana, the world's second biggest cocoa producer, faces a growing risk to its harvest -- and blow to its crisis-hit economy -- from illegal mining and smugglers, industry officials, farmers and activists warn.
Issued on: 20/12/2023
© CRISTINA ALDEHUELA / AFP/File
Top producer Ivory Coast and Ghana, together with other West African neighbours, produce two thirds of the world's supply of cocoa, the main ingredient in chocolate.
Along with gold and oil, the cocoa industry is a mainstay of Ghana's economy and foreign currency earnings.
Any losses in revenue hit hard, as the country struggles to weather its worst economic crisis in decades.
But cocoa production is falling victim to illegal mining, mostly for gold and known locally as "galamsey".
It is a major problem in Ghana despite government efforts to crack down and arrest those involved who have included Chinese nationals.
"For the past five years, we’ve been experiencing serious destruction on cocoa farms as a result of activities of illegal miners," Michael Kwarteng, director in charge of anti-illegal mining activities at Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), told AFP.
"It has reached an alarming proportion."
Despite an incentive package to help producers increase the price of a bag of cocoa, farmers accept lucrative deals to sell off land for unlawful mining.
Rita Abena Koranteng, a 45-year-old cocoa farmer in Suhum in the Eastern Region, said the tough economic times had prompted her to give out two old pieces of land for mining.
Top producer Ivory Coast and Ghana, together with other West African neighbours, produce two thirds of the world's supply of cocoa, the main ingredient in chocolate.
Along with gold and oil, the cocoa industry is a mainstay of Ghana's economy and foreign currency earnings.
Any losses in revenue hit hard, as the country struggles to weather its worst economic crisis in decades.
But cocoa production is falling victim to illegal mining, mostly for gold and known locally as "galamsey".
It is a major problem in Ghana despite government efforts to crack down and arrest those involved who have included Chinese nationals.
"For the past five years, we’ve been experiencing serious destruction on cocoa farms as a result of activities of illegal miners," Michael Kwarteng, director in charge of anti-illegal mining activities at Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), told AFP.
"It has reached an alarming proportion."
Despite an incentive package to help producers increase the price of a bag of cocoa, farmers accept lucrative deals to sell off land for unlawful mining.
Rita Abena Koranteng, a 45-year-old cocoa farmer in Suhum in the Eastern Region, said the tough economic times had prompted her to give out two old pieces of land for mining.
Global production of cocoa © Sylvie HUSSON, Sophie RAMIS / AFP
"Every month he pays me $500 and I am happy with that because I am not going to make such an amount of money in my cocoa business," she said.
"I know some of my colleague cocoa farms in the Western Region and other places have switched to rubber plantation now."
Dwindling harvests, hardship
The harvest has fallen in recent years, impacted by illegal mining, experts say.
Around one million tonnes of cocoa were produced in Ghana in 2020-2021, according to COCOBOD.
It dipped to 750,000 tonnes for the 2022-2023 crop, while the forecast for the coming season is between 750,000 and 800,000 tonnes.
The government announced a 63-percent-increase this year in cocoa prices -- a bag currently sells for $114 and a tonne costs $1,822.
"Farmers are giving out their lands to these illegal miners in return for huge sums of money," Kwarteng said.
"So far, the land lost to illegal mining now accounts for two percent of the total cocoa cultivation area in Ghana."
Sometimes cocoa farmers are even tricked into handing over land to illegal miners who claim to have a government permit to operate on it, Kwarteng said.
-'Time bomb' -
Once seen as an economic star and beacon of political stability in the region, Ghana has been forced to take a $3-billion credit deal with the International Monetary Fund to shore up its finances.
Inflation stands at more than 26 percent, while public debt has increased sharply.
Its economic woes weigh on President Nana Akufo-Addo's ruling NPP party as it gears up for elections at the end of next year.
Cocoa crops generate about $2 billion in foreign exchange annually in a major contributor to government revenue and growth.
"Every month he pays me $500 and I am happy with that because I am not going to make such an amount of money in my cocoa business," she said.
"I know some of my colleague cocoa farms in the Western Region and other places have switched to rubber plantation now."
Dwindling harvests, hardship
The harvest has fallen in recent years, impacted by illegal mining, experts say.
Around one million tonnes of cocoa were produced in Ghana in 2020-2021, according to COCOBOD.
It dipped to 750,000 tonnes for the 2022-2023 crop, while the forecast for the coming season is between 750,000 and 800,000 tonnes.
The government announced a 63-percent-increase this year in cocoa prices -- a bag currently sells for $114 and a tonne costs $1,822.
"Farmers are giving out their lands to these illegal miners in return for huge sums of money," Kwarteng said.
"So far, the land lost to illegal mining now accounts for two percent of the total cocoa cultivation area in Ghana."
Sometimes cocoa farmers are even tricked into handing over land to illegal miners who claim to have a government permit to operate on it, Kwarteng said.
-'Time bomb' -
Once seen as an economic star and beacon of political stability in the region, Ghana has been forced to take a $3-billion credit deal with the International Monetary Fund to shore up its finances.
Inflation stands at more than 26 percent, while public debt has increased sharply.
Its economic woes weigh on President Nana Akufo-Addo's ruling NPP party as it gears up for elections at the end of next year.
Cocoa crops generate about $2 billion in foreign exchange annually in a major contributor to government revenue and growth.
Cocoa crops generate about $2 billion in foreign exchange annually in a major contributor to government revenue and growth
© CRISTINA ALDEHUELA / AFP/File
In 2021, the contribution of cocoa to GDP in real terms was about $533 million, according to the 2022 Cocoa Sector Report by GCB Strategy and Research Department.
But illegal mining is not the only problem -- smugglers also target the crop.
COCOBOD has begun to offer cash rewards to whistleblowers who report illegal mining on cocoa land but also smuggling of beans, Benjamin Tei Larweh, the board's deputy communications director, said.
"In 2022, Ghana lost about 150,000 metric tonnes of cocoa beans through smuggling to our neighbours and that was a colossal $600-million revenue gone down the drain," he said.
Six main regions in Ghana cultivate cocoa but due to fluctuating rainfall and decreasing soil fertility, production has moved westward.
The Western Region is now Ghana’s main cocoa producer, accounting for 43 percent of the total.
But illegal mining has also grown at the same time in the region.
Obed Owusu-Addai, of EcoCare Ghana which advocates for farmers' wellbeing, said the government had to do more to help improve prices and living standards.
"We are sitting on a time bomb as a country," said Owusu-Addai. "If this issue is not resolved immediately, we will end up losing most of our lands to illegal mining."
© 2023 AFP
In 2021, the contribution of cocoa to GDP in real terms was about $533 million, according to the 2022 Cocoa Sector Report by GCB Strategy and Research Department.
But illegal mining is not the only problem -- smugglers also target the crop.
COCOBOD has begun to offer cash rewards to whistleblowers who report illegal mining on cocoa land but also smuggling of beans, Benjamin Tei Larweh, the board's deputy communications director, said.
"In 2022, Ghana lost about 150,000 metric tonnes of cocoa beans through smuggling to our neighbours and that was a colossal $600-million revenue gone down the drain," he said.
Six main regions in Ghana cultivate cocoa but due to fluctuating rainfall and decreasing soil fertility, production has moved westward.
The Western Region is now Ghana’s main cocoa producer, accounting for 43 percent of the total.
But illegal mining has also grown at the same time in the region.
Obed Owusu-Addai, of EcoCare Ghana which advocates for farmers' wellbeing, said the government had to do more to help improve prices and living standards.
"We are sitting on a time bomb as a country," said Owusu-Addai. "If this issue is not resolved immediately, we will end up losing most of our lands to illegal mining."
© 2023 AFP
Chocolate wars as Italian artisans battle Swiss giant
By AFP
Published December 19, 2023
'Giuinott', the version of gianduiotto made by Guido Castagna
Turin’s famed gianduiotto, a small, creamy chocolate that melts on the tongue, is at the centre of a battle for European recognition pitting Italian artisans against Swiss giant Lindt.
In his workshop outside the northwestern Italian city, Luca Ballesio kneads chocolate with spatulas before expertly slicing off pieces and lining them up on a tray.
The 42-year-old is one of the last chocolatiers who makes gianduiotto the old-fashioned way, a hand-made approach which gives the sweets their typical prism shape.
He is part of a committee of around 40 artisan chocolatiers, as well as companies such as Ferrero, Venchi and Domori, who are seeking to obtain a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) for the gianduiotto from the European Union.
The goal is to raise the profile of the chocolate, increase sales — already estimated at around 200 million euros ($219 million) a year — and continue the chocolate tradition in Turin.
But they are facing opposition from Lindt, owner since 1997 of Italian producer Caffarel, which claims to have invented the gianduiotto.
The plan is currently blocked at Italy’s ministry of agriculture.
“This battle is important in promoting a historic product of Turin,” Ballesio told AFP.
The committee has developed some very detailed criteria, which would have to be met by anyone hoping to secure the hoped-for PGI to their products.
– Heresy –
Faithful to tradition, it advocates a return to the original gianduiotto — 30 to 45 percent roasted hazelnuts from Piedmont, at least 25 percent cocoa, plus sugar.
The 200-year-old recipe is not, however, to the tastes of Lindt, which requires the addition of powdered milk and wants to reduce the hazelnut content to 26 percent.
The addition of powdered milk for many here is heresy.
“For us, adding powdered milk to chocolate is like diluting wine with water,” said Guido Castagna, president of the Gianduiotto Committee in Turin.
With Christmas just a few days away, production in 49-year-old Castagna’s workshop in Giaveno, near the city, is in full swing.
Castagna pours bag after bag of hazelnuts into a machine which roasts them before they are ground up and mixed with cocoa.
The chocolate mixture then passes through a machine which slices it and pours it directly onto a conveyer belt without using moulds.
Each chocolate is then wrapped by hand in shiny aluminium foil, ready to be placed under the Christmas tree.
“We don’t want to take anything away from Caffarel. We’re not fighting a war against Caffarel. For us Caffarel can easily continue its production,” Castagna told AFP.
– Naval blockade –
“But it must be clear to Caffarel that we are defending the gianduiotto as it was originally made.”
Caffarel, for its part, insists it had never opposed the recognition of a PGI certificate, which it says would “contribute to the prestige of gianduiotto in Italy and across the world”.
But the Lindt subsidiary already has its own brand, “Gianduia 1865 — the authentic Gianduiotto of Turin” and fears the creation of a similar PGI, “Gianduiotto of Turin”, will cause confusion.
“Our objective is to find an agreement which satisfies all parties and which allows Caffarel to protect the historic value of its brand,” the company said.
The chocolates date back to the naval blockade ordered by Napoleon against Britain and its empire in 1806, which created a shortage of cocao on mainland Europe.
Turin chocolatiers went on to use hazelnuts — which are abundant in the region — for the first time.
But it was not until 1865 that the Piedmontese hazelnut paste took the name of a carnival figure, Gianduia, the symbol of Turin, and was marketed by Caffarel.
“Caffarel knows where to find us and if they think there may be an opening, we are ready to discuss it with them,” said Antonio Borra, a lawyer for the PGI committee.
But, he warned: “There are points on which we cannot compromise, starting with the name of Turin, which belongs to the whole territory, not a single company.”
By AFP
Published December 19, 2023
'Giuinott', the version of gianduiotto made by Guido Castagna
- Copyright AFP Kristin Elisabet Gunnarsdottir
Brigitte HAGEMANN
Turin’s famed gianduiotto, a small, creamy chocolate that melts on the tongue, is at the centre of a battle for European recognition pitting Italian artisans against Swiss giant Lindt.
In his workshop outside the northwestern Italian city, Luca Ballesio kneads chocolate with spatulas before expertly slicing off pieces and lining them up on a tray.
The 42-year-old is one of the last chocolatiers who makes gianduiotto the old-fashioned way, a hand-made approach which gives the sweets their typical prism shape.
He is part of a committee of around 40 artisan chocolatiers, as well as companies such as Ferrero, Venchi and Domori, who are seeking to obtain a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) for the gianduiotto from the European Union.
The goal is to raise the profile of the chocolate, increase sales — already estimated at around 200 million euros ($219 million) a year — and continue the chocolate tradition in Turin.
But they are facing opposition from Lindt, owner since 1997 of Italian producer Caffarel, which claims to have invented the gianduiotto.
The plan is currently blocked at Italy’s ministry of agriculture.
“This battle is important in promoting a historic product of Turin,” Ballesio told AFP.
The committee has developed some very detailed criteria, which would have to be met by anyone hoping to secure the hoped-for PGI to their products.
– Heresy –
Faithful to tradition, it advocates a return to the original gianduiotto — 30 to 45 percent roasted hazelnuts from Piedmont, at least 25 percent cocoa, plus sugar.
The 200-year-old recipe is not, however, to the tastes of Lindt, which requires the addition of powdered milk and wants to reduce the hazelnut content to 26 percent.
The addition of powdered milk for many here is heresy.
“For us, adding powdered milk to chocolate is like diluting wine with water,” said Guido Castagna, president of the Gianduiotto Committee in Turin.
With Christmas just a few days away, production in 49-year-old Castagna’s workshop in Giaveno, near the city, is in full swing.
Castagna pours bag after bag of hazelnuts into a machine which roasts them before they are ground up and mixed with cocoa.
The chocolate mixture then passes through a machine which slices it and pours it directly onto a conveyer belt without using moulds.
Each chocolate is then wrapped by hand in shiny aluminium foil, ready to be placed under the Christmas tree.
“We don’t want to take anything away from Caffarel. We’re not fighting a war against Caffarel. For us Caffarel can easily continue its production,” Castagna told AFP.
– Naval blockade –
“But it must be clear to Caffarel that we are defending the gianduiotto as it was originally made.”
Caffarel, for its part, insists it had never opposed the recognition of a PGI certificate, which it says would “contribute to the prestige of gianduiotto in Italy and across the world”.
But the Lindt subsidiary already has its own brand, “Gianduia 1865 — the authentic Gianduiotto of Turin” and fears the creation of a similar PGI, “Gianduiotto of Turin”, will cause confusion.
“Our objective is to find an agreement which satisfies all parties and which allows Caffarel to protect the historic value of its brand,” the company said.
The chocolates date back to the naval blockade ordered by Napoleon against Britain and its empire in 1806, which created a shortage of cocao on mainland Europe.
Turin chocolatiers went on to use hazelnuts — which are abundant in the region — for the first time.
But it was not until 1865 that the Piedmontese hazelnut paste took the name of a carnival figure, Gianduia, the symbol of Turin, and was marketed by Caffarel.
“Caffarel knows where to find us and if they think there may be an opening, we are ready to discuss it with them,” said Antonio Borra, a lawyer for the PGI committee.
But, he warned: “There are points on which we cannot compromise, starting with the name of Turin, which belongs to the whole territory, not a single company.”
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