South West Region: Cocoa Producers To Receive Quality Premium

Cocoa farmers from the six Administrative Divisions of the South West Region, met on Wednesday, March 2, 2022 at Mountain Hotel in Buea, to frame modalities for cocoa producers to receive the Quality Premium Bonuses offered by the Cameroonian Government. This was as a follow up to the Cameroon Government’s bid to encourage production of quality cocoa beans since 2016, which introduced a yearly Quality Premium Pay.
The premium would be received by cocoa producers who are either members of local cooperatives or outstanding individual producers for the 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 cocoa seasons.  At the sensitisation meeting in Buea, the Director of the National Cocoa and Coffee Board (NCCB), Michael Ndoping, advised farmers to properly ferment cocoa beans, avoid smoke drying, or getting into illegal partnerships with produce buyers.” This, to him, would avoid a recurrence of the 2016's 30 per cent price drop due to poor quality of cocoa beans put on the market. This, he added, would also promote the exportation of cocoa’s top grades one and two, thereby reinstating Cameroon's prestige as Africa's best cocoa seeds producer on the international market.
The beneficiaries of the premium will include present, absent and deceased producers of cocoa top grades One or Two. To benefit from this premium, the producer must present documents proving the marketing of top grades or good fermented cocoa, be recognised as part of Group Sales (Periodic Markets) or Contract Sales, along other supporting documents, Mosima James, National President of the Cocoa and Coffee Produ...