“I’ve been waiting for long“: 103-year-old farmer enrols in new cocoa pension scheme

Opanyin Kwabena Nkrumah, a 103-year-old cocoa farmer from Adansi Atobiase, has become one of the first people to enrol in the Cocoa Farmer Pension Scheme, which is being piloted in the Ashanti Region.

The centenarian was among a group of cocoa farmers who went to the registration centre in the early hours of the first day of registration and were taken through the process of signing up.

Opanyin Nkrumah expressed delight at having gone through the process. He urged the younger generation of cocoa farmers to seize the opportunity to register with the scheme and make their regular contributions to secure a comfortable retirement.

Knows no age limits

“Look at me. At my age, I still harvest and sell cocoa. I have been farming for over 50 years.

“I still love cocoa farming and the pension scheme is a step in the right direction. We have been waiting for it for a long time and we are grateful to the government for it,” he said.

The pilot registration exercise will go on for 14 days. Within the period, some 2,800 volunteer farmers will be enrolled in the scheme. The farmers will provide feedback to help improve the operational framework designed for the nationwide registration scheduled for October this year.

Arnold Mensa-Bonsu, an IT consultant working with the implementation team for the scheme, said the qualification criteria for enrolment do not include an age limit.

“Actually, there is no age limit to register. However, for a farmer who joins at an age lower than 50, they will be eligible for retirement at 55 … but those who join at age 50 and above, they are eligible for retirement after five years,” he said.

The chairman of the pension scheme implementation committee, Charles Osei-Akoto, also indicated that, during the registration, farmers will choose beneficiaries in the event of their passing.

The institution of the Cocoa Farmer Pension Scheme is in fulfilment of provisions in the Ghana Cocoa Board Law 1984 (PNDC Law 81) which enjoin the COCOBOD board of directors to establish a contributory insurance for cocoa farmers.

The scheme is also in line with a broader goal to improve living standards for cocoa farmers in Ghana. It intends to provide a suitable retirement income to the farmers so that they can maintain a decent standard of living after retirement.

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