Western/Central Regions Rubber Farmers Association demonstrates against GREL
Members of the Western/Central Regions Rubber Farmers Association (WRUFA) have organised a massive demonstration at Agona Nkwanta, the capital of the Ahanta West District in the Western Region, against the management of the Ghana Rubber Estates Limited (GREL), citing persistent cheating in the producer price offered them and other mistreatment by the company.
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The rubber out grower farmers accused the company of having convinced them to cut down their cocoa trees, coffee, oil palm and coconut plantations, as well as abandoning other agricultural activities to rather cultivate rubber for better returns which they obliged.
Poor producer price
However, they maintained that after years of switching over to the cultivation of rubber the management of GREL and other financial institution collaborators have turned round to offer poor producer prices for the produce and cheating them in various ways.
Clad in black and red, the demonstrators carried placards some of which read, ‘‘GREL is cheating us. No profit from plantation,’’ ‘‘We were better off before than now;’’ ‘‘Monkey dey work, baboon dey chop;’’ ‘‘Government come and save your farmers’’ and ‘‘How can rubber farmers survive, oh God?’’
In a petition they presented to the company at Apimenim, the location of GREL offices, the farmers argued that commodities such as cocoa, coffee, oil, rubber and many others were being sold at a common market price but the price being paid for rubber to the local farmers by GREL was woefully inadequate.
The petition signed by the Vice Chairman of the association, Mr Enoch Cudjoe and the Assistant General Secretary, Mr Benjamin Kwame Okai, indicated that ‘‘Our calculations show about 28 per cent of the world market price being paid to the poor farmer for a number of years now.’’
Therefore, it said paying our tappers, farm maintenance and meeting other commitments has become a difficult task, especially about poor living standards.
The farmers also accused the National Investment Bank (NIB) and the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) of imposing high interest rates on loans to the farmers, saying ‘‘We all know that all agriculture loans in Ghana range up to 10 per cent interest rate and it is of simple interest not compound which the banks are charging us.’’
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The Corporate Affairs Manager of GREL, Mr Perry Acheampong, who received the petition, said the management would read the contents and offer their reactions.
Mr Denis Amoako, the acting manager of ADB, Apimenim branch, said the bank took keen interest in feedbacks from its customers and so management would respond appropriately to the concerns raised by the farmers and added that the bank would fulfil its core mandate to the agriculture sector.