The Minority Caucus in Parliament is set to embark on a week-long tour of cocoa-growing communities in the Ashanti Region to engage farmers and assess the impact of the recent reduction in cocoa producer prices.
The exercise will be embarked upon from Monday, March 16 to Friday, March 20 and will be led by the Minority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, together with the Member of Parliament for Offinso South, Dr Isaac Yaw Opoku.
As part of the tour, the delegation will visit the Offinsomanhene, who is standing in for Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Asantehene, who is currently out of the jurisdiction.
The visit is intended to strengthen ties with traditional authorities and provide the Minority members with an opportunity to gather first-hand perspectives on cocoa farming and the broader socio-economic conditions in cocoa-producing communities.
Members of Parliament expected to participate in the tour include Nana Asafo-Agyei Ayeh, Kwaku Asante-Boateng, Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi, Seth Osei Akoto, Elvis Osei Mensah Dapaah, Eric Nana Agyemang-Prempeh, Yaw Frimpong Addo, Tweneboa Kodua Fokuo, Anthony Mmieh, Ralph Poku Adusei, Patrick Boakye-Yiadom, Isaac Yaw Opoku and Fred Kyei Asamoah.
Former Minister George Oduro and former District Chief Executive Alex are also expected to join the delegation.
The Minority Caucus says the tour forms part of its efforts to better understand the challenges confronting cocoa farmers and to advocate policies that will protect their livelihoods while safeguarding the long-term sustainability of Ghana’s cocoa sector.