Janet Gyamfi, 52, a cocoa farmer, reacts as she 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 waste water 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
