THOUSANDS of bags of cocoa and large quantities of foodstuffs are locked up in the northern part of the Western Region following perennial rains that have virtually rendered most of the roads in the area non-usable.
This has heightened fears that cocoa farmers in the area may send their produce to neighbouring Cote d’Ivoire for sale.
At the moment, the Enchi-Elubo road, which is used to transport cocoa and other farm produce from the area to buying centres, is cut off as a result of the rains, while the road from Samreboi through Mumuni-Camp to Prestea is not usable.
The most affected areas include Aowin Suaman, Amenfi West and East, Tikobo, Enchi and Elubo.
Other roads which have timber logs serving as bridges on them have been declared unsafe to be used because the logs are rotten.
On its visit to some of the affected areas, the Daily Graphic found that some of the roads had been completely swept away, leaving trenches in the middle of the roads.
Although the district chief executives in the affected areas managed to rally some support for the roads to be reshaped, the rains would not permit the contractors to undertake any serious work.
Even the roads that were awarded on contract by the Ministry of Roads and Highways could not be completed because of the bad weather.
The District Chief Executives (DCEs) in those cocoa-producing areas have, therefore, called on the sector ministry to intervene to help save the situation.
“The situation is now beyond our control and we need support from the national level,” they said.
Asked if the situation would not spark off the smuggling of cocoa to Cote d’Ivoire, the DCEs said the producer price announced recently by the government had significantly discouraged the practice.
They said the best thing to do now was to ensure that the roads were in good shape to help move the produce to the ports for shipment.
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