Cocoa beans rot and West African farmers seek other options after commodity crash

KONA, Ghana (AP) — West African cocoa farmers are facing a squeeze after the price of the global commodity crashed on the international market in recent months. Now some across Ghana and Ivory Coast are turning their land over to other purposes like mining sites. The two countries are responsible for nearly 70% of the world’s supply of the commodity that feeds global chocolate cravings. Markets fluctuate, but one former agricultural union leader says authorities were not prepared for a crisis of this scale. Governments have long set the price for which farmers can sell their crop, but now the tradition is being challenged.