He said the scheme selected New Edubiase for the pilot project because it is the highest cocoa producing district in the Ashanti Region.

Mr Arnold Mensa-Bonsu said all farmers who went for the Cocoa Management System (CMS) and were issued with a card would contribute a maximum of five per cent of their cocoa sales to the fund, while COCOBOD would match it with one per cent contribution.

“However, cocoa farmers are at liberty to contribute more than that, and explained that out of the contribution, 25 per cent would be put into personal savings for the farmer, while the other 75 per cent would go into a retirement account,” he said.

While the personal savings could be accessed after five years of contribution, Mr Mensa-Bonsu said the retirement account could be accessed only upon retirement.

In the case of the personal savings account, he said, a farmer could access 25 per cent of the accrued sum after five years and 20 per cent after every two years.

Mr Mensa-Bonsu said the main qualification for the pension scheme was for one to be registered and issued with the Ghana Cocoa Card, saying it was the only means through which one could sell cocoa beans and be registered onto the scheme.

Mr Mensa-Bonsu said the card contained all the details of the farmer, including his or her farm size and could not be stolen and used by another person because “some of the information on the card is only known to the owner”.

“So far, all cocoa farmers in the Western North cocoa region had been registered onto the CMS, while registration in Ashanti was ongoing,” he revealed.

The CMS provides a database for the cocoa industry to track the contribution of farmers and to facilitate prompt payment of claims to beneficiaries.

During a visit to some of the pilot registration centres, some of the cocoa farmers expressed happiness for the project saying it will go a long way to enhance their livelihoods.

Recall

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo launched the National Cocoa Farmers Pension Scheme in Kumasi 2nd December, 2020 and announced that it would be rolled out in October this year.

The scheme is a regulated one sponsored by the COCOBOD to cover registered cocoa farmers and their beneficiaries.