Faurce démagogies aux populations du Wawa

In Wawa, Faure Gnassingbe promises to people reviving the cultivation of coffee and cocoa in decline, productions that are on very fertile land for the North satisfaction. However, when they gave up cash crops, farmers have turned to more profitable food crops, but the state hardly create the conditions of trade in grain and a food processing industry.

In power for a decade, outgoing President Faure Gnassingbe beats by extraordinary campaign on the theme of change. And agricultural illusions constitute one of the axes change with faurce démago. « … Warmly welcomed by the population of the Prefectures of Amu, Wawa and Akébou » on April 14, the outgoing president was invaded by emotion. Hence certainly demagogic promises to the location of said populations who  » thought they just had the opportunity to express their gratitude for his many achievements in their favor (free primary school and cesarean section, with access to credit to FNFI, construction of markets etc …)  « , according to the candidate on his Facebook profile » All Faure. « 

Faced with so much outpouring of feelings, the president is a little let go of promise for its people who « deserve more attention from him for their development. »

 « … I’m going to raise the coffee-cocoa sector for these products once again become the flagship products of the region in general and Trays of these three prefectures in particular, » according to the Facebook page All Faure.

He states now have a free hand to develop the coffee.

It was important at first, in his words, to bring peace, reconcile the Togolese and put order in public finances. Then start building roads without which the export of agricultural products can not be achieved; and improve the business climate in the country to attract investors, says this page.

Cash crops on lands rich for the rich North

Coffee and cocoa is falling in the region for over two decades. In the 1960s, these two crops covered up to 94,000 hectares of cultivated land in the country. Togolese 286,000 or 40,000 farmers and 25,000 families depended. The extent of these areas decreased by 36% from the 1990s Thus, in the 1994/1995 years, the production of this sector amounted to 38,000 tons / year. In 2012, it increased to 12,000 tons / year. According to figures forecast cocoa farmers and growers in 2013, the yields of their fields were around 8,000 tons.

The Ministry recovery sector despite the advice of many experts who consider this impertinent policy against-productive. First, the coffee and cocoa, cash crop is produced by on rich land by farmers using hoes. These small family farms can not stand competition with the major producing countries of Ghana and Ivory Coast, even the countries that derive substantial benefits such as Belize, Bolivia, Cameroon, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic , Ecuador, Honduras, India, Nicaragua, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Sao Tome, Sierra Leone and Sri Lanka.

Cash crop, coffee-cocoa trade is turned towards the north. Produced in the South, 4 million tons of cocoa are mainly consumed in the North. A handful of multinational captures a large share of the value added of the sector, with control of 80% of the cocoa processing and distribution of chocolate. In 2014, an estimated international chocolate market between 80 and 100 billion.

In this trade, where the terms of trade are uneven, Togolese experts advise the government to abandon cash crops and focus on productions where Togo is strong, food crops while developing food processing units . For experts the food industry is the only possibility for Togo to get out of poverty. Cereal crops are at record levels since 4 years and Togo became an exporting country to its neighbors.

But the Ministry of Agriculture headed by a Minister colonel, who combines the management of the National Food Security Agency (ANSAT) – a store- prefer wasting billions of National Agricultural Investment and Food Security Programme ( PNIASA) in a stimulus policy that is not going to bring anything to farmers, but contribute to their impoverishment.