The Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC) has announced plans to send officials to the centre-eastern region of Ivory Coast to ease tensions among farmers who protested last week over unsold cocoa stocks and delayed payments.
A source close to the council said the move followed mounting anger from farmers who claim they have not been paid for cocoa beans sold during the main crop season, despite earlier assurances that the council would purchase the produce.
CCC managers will travel to the centre-eastern town of M’Batto, where police tear-gassed dozens of farmers last week as they blocked roads while demanding payment for their cocoa.
Unsold cocoa stocks built up in Ivory Coast, the world’s top producer, from November to December after global prices fell sharply below local prices, which are set twice a year by the CCC.
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The government launched a programme to collect the unsold beans, but many farmers and cooperatives say they still have not been paid for main-crop cocoa harvested between October and March.
In the centre-western region of Daloa, the head of a cooperative representing more than 300 farmers said it also still holds about 150 metric tons of unsold beans from the main crop. The payment delays have left farmers demoralised and distrustful of the cooperative, he said. Some have fallen ill and lack the money for medical treatment.
“This situation will affect the next (main crop) harvest because growers were counting on a lot of money to maintain their plantations,” said Albert Konan, a farmer and manager of the cooperative.
Reuters
