Cocoa Farmer Boasts After Reportedly Selling Farm for Galamsey: “Me I Am Destroying My Own Cocoa”
- A viral video showcases a farmer joyfully wrecking his cocoa farm for illegal gold mining, aka galamsey
- Environmental degradation in Ghana is highlighted as excavators decimate cocoa trees before shocked onlookers
- Estimates suggest over 30,000 hectares of cocoa farms were destroyed through illegal mining in 2025
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Ghanaians were reminded of the impact of illegal gold mining after a sad viral video.
The video showed a man rejoicing at the destruction of a cocoa farm due to illegal gold mining.
Source: Getty Images
The man in the video, which was posted on X, claimed to be the owner of the farm, boasted about the environmental degradation ongoing.
“Me, I am destroying my own cocoa… it is my own property”, he is heard saying in the video
“We are destroying all the land,” he also says.
The cocoa farm was being destroyed by excavators that were felling the cocoa trees as people watched on.
Recently, Illegal miners were reported to have destroyed over seven acres of cocoa farms at Akwabuoso in the Upper Denkyira West District of the Central Region.
Darlington Nana Boateng, a spokesperson for the farmers, complained about impunity from small-scale miners.
Destruction and pollution of farmlands from galamsey
There has been particular concern over the destruction of farmland and the diversion of streams and rivers for mining purposes.
Illegal mining has replaced subsistence agriculture in several rural areas as the principal income-earning activity.
An estimated 1.2 million hectares of farmland have been lost to illegal mining in Ghana. Estimates suggest over 30,000 hectares of cocoa farms were destroyed through illegal mining in 2025. A study in the Amansie West district in the Ashanti Region noted that 71% of cocoa farmers had lost land to illegal mining.
Most of these losses result from agreements with farmers, although some farms are taken over by force.
In the Upper Denkyira East district in the Central Region, a study revealed that about 65 farms had been destroyed by illegal mining, while a further 53 other farms were at risk of being destroyed by the activities of illegal miners.
About the illegal mining problem
Artisanal and small-scale gold mining in Ghana has traditionally been an indigenous activity traced back to the 15th century, which often employed rudimentary means of extracting the minerals.
Source: Facebook
Chinese involvement has transformed the illegal small-scale mining through the introduction of machinery like the aforementioned Changfa crushing machines and the trommel wash plants, as well as the proliferation of excavators, water platforms and suction equipment for dredging in rivers.
This mechanisation has allowed land that would previously have taken years to mine using traditional methods to be mined in weeks.
Mahama admits his people involved in illegal gold mining
YEN.com.gh reported that President John Mahama has admitted that people affiliated with him and his political party are involved in illegal mining.
Mahama complained that illegal mining had deeply infiltrated Ghanaian society.
One of his appointees, the Amansie Central District Chief Executive, was implicated in facilitating illegal mining, but no action has been taken against Changfa.
Source: YEN.com.gh
