Maame Abena Yarko, a 74-year-old cocoa farmer and a native of Kukuom in the Asunafo South District of the Ahafo Region, has said cocoa farmers in the area had regretted voting for the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the last general election in 2024.
She is demanding an apology from Mr Eric Opoku, the Food and Agriculture Minister, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Asunafo South Constituency, who said influenced the cocoa farmers to vote for the NDC in the Election 2024.
Maame Yarko said the farmers were persuaded and voted for the NDC in the last elections because of what she described as the “juicy promises” they received from the Minister, who was the incumbent MP for the area during the electioneering.
“Our MP convinced us that the previous administration is massaging the price of cocoa,” the aged woman told the media at Kukuom during a visit by the Minority Caucus in Parliament to the area.
Maame Yarko said the farmers were convinced and voted for the NDC because the MP influenced them that an NDC government would increase the cocoa producer price and thereby make the cocoa sector more lucrative to better the socio-economic livelihoods of the farmers.
“But now it is clear that our MP has deceived us, and we can’t even see him here after his government reduced the cocoa producer price”, she stated, demanding an unqualified apology from the MP.
Some of the farmers also expressed their frustration about the reduction of the cocoa price and also called on the government to pay them.
Earlier, Mr Frank Annoh-Dompreh, the Minority Chief Whip and MP for Nsawam Adoagyiri, told the farmers that they were in the area to listen to their concerns and accordingly amplify their voices in parliament and to help alleviate their plight.
Source: GNA
