Some farmers in Uganda have hired gunmen to protect their cocoa as thieves attempt to cash in on the crop’s increased value.
Global cocoa prices have reached their highest point in over a decade as dry weather hinders farming in Ghana and Ivory Coast, the biggest producers of cocoa in the world.
According to Mutanga Grace, a Ugandan cocoa farmer and CEO of Mkulima Exports Uganda, roughly 30% of the cocoa beans produced in the East African country is being stolen.
He told Newsday that farmers in the country are forking out armed guards and dogs in an attempt to protect their cocoa, which is a key ingredient in products like chocolate, ice creams and cakes.
“Cocoa in the country right now is like a hotcake, someone takes little but has taken a lot, a lot of money,” he said.