"Surveying the stripped landscape of her farm - dotted with pools of cyanide-tainted, tea coloured waste water left by illegal gold miners - is enough to make Janet Gyamfi break down.
Only last year, the 27-hectare plot in western Ghana was covered with nearly 6,000 cocoa trees. Today, less than a dozen remain.
“This farm was my only means of survival,” the 52-year-old divorcee told Reuters, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I planned to pass it on to my children.”
Long the world’s undisputed cocoa powerhouses accounting for over 60% of global supply, Ghana and its West African neighbour Ivory Coast are both facing catastrophic harvests this season."
Source: Reuters, 04/01/2024