Ghana’s cocoa farmers at risk of 20-year prison sentence under new legislation

Ghana’s parliament passed a bill that could send cocoa farmers to prison for up to 20 years if they convert their farms to other uses without government approval. The new measure was passed on July 30, but the contents of the law were not made public until late August 2. The legislation would give all cocoa farms protected status, making it a criminal offense to repurpose them for anything else without authorization, drawing criticism from farmers.