Cocoa questions need some answers
Fri, Dec 9. 2011
Editor: The articles this MIDWEEK and last week on Cocoa by Oscar Allen have raised my interest in this project, not because I am a farmer, but what he says deserves some kind of answer.{{more}}
Your paper last week carried some remarks on the cocoa agreement from our Prime Minister Dr the Honourable Ralph Gonsalves, but he did not deal with the matter that Mr. Allen spoke about. Was the cocoa memorandum really a hidden document, or did SEARCHLIGHT get a copy when it was announced? Is it true that Armajaro is the agency that will control the production of cocoa as well as the sale of cocoa? What happened to the Ministry of Agriculture and all its officers? Donât they know about cocoa too? How can they pass a law to give a cocoa industry to a company that never produced cocoa before? These questions need some attention.
If what Mr. Allen says is true, and I know he is a reliable man, then farmers must get up and call for proper answers. They must take the cocoa memorandum and say what they want changed in it. Even for persons who are not farmers, this cocoa law is disturbing. It appears to carry us backwards rather than forwards.
G. Rogers
Editorâs note: SEARCHLIGHT received a copy of the Agreement on September 28, 2011, when it was distributed to the media. The Agreement was signed on August 12, 2011.
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