Janet Gyamfi, 52, a cocoa farmer, visits her cocoa plantation destroyed by illegal gold mining in the Samreboi community in the Western Region, Ghana, February 26, 2024. Surveying the stripped landscape of her farm – dotted with pools of cyanide-tainted, tea-coloured wastewater left by illegal gold miners – is enough to make 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 divorcee told Reuters, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I planned to pass it on to my children.” REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko
