Ghana is the second largest producer of cocoa in West Africa, after Ivory Coast, but the activities of illegal mining is hampering cocoa production, in addition to contamination of cocoa beans.

Speaking to The Ghanaian Times in an exclusive interview on Thurs­day, Mr Verheul expressed concern about the impact of illegal mining also known as “Galamsey” on cocoa production.

He observed a downward trend in Ghana’s annual cocoa produc­tion in the last few years due to climatic conditions and compelling offers by gold prospectors, made to cocoa farmers in exchange of their farmlands.

He said in instances where farmers were offered large sums of money to sell their farms to pros­pectors who dig for gold, it means they can’t grow cocoa.

Also, Mr Verheul noted that heavy metals in the water may find its way into the cocoa beans through the tree if the water that comes into the roots is contami­nated.

This, Mr Verheul said could lead to rejection from the European market.

“You can see that in the figures. If you look at the production figures of cocoa in Ghana, it has been going down quite drastically over the past few years,” Mr Ver­heul said.

The Netherlands imports about 300,000 metric tonnes of cocoa annually from Ghana.

There has been a reduction in these trade figures, and this is a direct economic threat, Mr Verheul added.

“For us, Galamsey is not a good thing, and we are very concerned about it”.

When asked whether The Netherlands has had cause to reject cocoa beans from Ghana, he said “Not yet”.

While the activities of illegal mining poses serious health risks to Ghanaians through the contamina­tion of water bodies, Mr Verheul expressed optimism by the current administration in its determination and its concrete plans to tackle the Galamsey menace.

Currently, about 25 per cent of global production of cocoa goes through the Amsterdam port, which is the world’s biggest cocoa trading port.

The Kingdom of The Neth­erlands remains one of Ghana’s prominent trading partners.

Agriculture is the focus of trade with Ghana, and already the Dutch government through the embassy in Ghana has embarked on several projects in the sector.

One such initiatives is the Aden­tan Community Garden, a model garden developed in collaboration with Dutch companies.

This model aims to encourage entrepreneurs to venture into hor­ticultural development.

Residents are also inspired by this model, to plant vegetables and other plants in their backyards with the aid of good agricultural practices, soil and inputs.