you're watching news from berlin coming up next we have a documentary film for you on ghana it's the world's 2nd biggest cocoa producer yet many canadians have yet to taste chocolate. we'll have that and much for for you throughout the day thanks for watching. it's all happening no job of conflict during link to news from africa to the world your link to exceptional stories and discussions can you unwelcome to see their views suffocating program life from funny to me from the news of easy to our i would say deputy comes to africa join us on facebook at w africa. on

west africa's atlantic coast the former british colony of ghana became infamous for its involvement in the transatlantic slave trade and also for its abundant reserves of gold which is why the english called it the gold coast. the country is rich in role materials such as oil which was recently discovered in the region and above all coca. ghana is the world's 2nd biggest producer of coca despite the plentiful resources they rarely benefit god names themselves. results fullness has become a necessity for some people white gold has replaced yellow and all taming to get rich many trying to survive. gonna means warrior king a fitting name that reflects the strength and resilience of its people. but i want

to buy a whole basket. they face a new battle every day. at dawn on lake volta the launches down to fish will reservoir in the wild water taxes put out to the banks. 3 times a week a transport isolated villages to the big markets in the town of tom pocket. this particular account seems to sense the getting on the boat isn't going to be an easy topps. like and i'm going to sell my car at the market you know that way to. pay for the car but i've got no choice.

let's. look now would have gone down to be appreciated a rhyme but a ride in the fresh air is bound to calm me down. but it makes a lot of. the boats maybe primitive but they are vital for the region's economy without the farmers would be trapped on the islands. but. you might. like. to let you know. to my mom that i got out. the back to the man my basket so he can bring it to me for the wife and son to let up on. love the light.

in the town. and. everyone gets on to such boats any way they can they have no choice the fare is a too big to dock at the small patches of land although few of the passengers know how to swim they mainly use the life jackets as parasols. but everything's fine and the lake is like a mill pond. where only watching the boats dropped jozy if the captain gets as much onto it as he can. i don't think i don't know actually how many people and animals there are my counted for cows and for sheep.

what are the maximum is about 1015 comes and the maximum number of people i would say is 5250. but it's very dangerous. if we're on lucky and a storm hits when we're in the middle of the lake. that's really dangerous because i i. have. after a 2 hour journey to watch a taxi arrives at top a market for the animals getting off the boat is a much more pleasant experience and getting off. a lot of. the passengers are barely off the boat when it heads back out across the lake.

at the top the market the scent of spices mingles with the aroma of freshly fried freitas. still it's hard to ignore the smell of petrol and fish. in it this pop array of sense one in particular is missing the center rived from a fruit founded every market stall the cocoa fruit at santa doesn't dom fold until it has been processed. ghana is the world's 2nd biggest producer of coca hundreds of trucks transported across the country before it's exported all over the while.

but most locals like biko have never tasted it. if all the people in this village they all google published. today all get up if you come and work at google for me this is a right. to. know what you're going to see some of the goodness all. go by but. they're juggling of all they do this to every middle bit warm. in. the eco shuttles between dozens of warehouses

along the road he wants for the state which buys for most all of the produced by the region's finest. nothing of. the lot. i mean a kilo as there is by about. 65 percent and that is the biggest. one . cocoa sales represent 10 percent of ghana's gross domestic product but the locals rarely see any of the prop. fitz and then day to day lives there. well i think.

there's a. the roads leading to the warehouse is a rundown. ready to go because there's a lot in the guard to various places if you want to get to a dime and there would be was a. will would like to see if you do got other. lost big look like this widely. it's official cycle if of eco is late delivering the load he will lose part of his salary.

in the heart of the forest and the cocoa harvesters have to get a move on. i did very very. well thought of the season is coming to an end i need to gather the remaining ponds the fruit that contains the cocoa beans before they rot on the trees. well i wish ain could do the work as well as these men can but harvesting is an arduous task. they extract from polyps with machetes which i nicknamed go to hell.

is the pride of this country. this is the i mean. america you see it's the best quality. other countries produce cocoa. but it's just not as good as in ghana where you got gold i just sit from here the cocoa will go to our. government and once there i will have to europe but i don't know what its final destination will be like this and i thought you. were right. around 15 families from the cocoa trees in a small forest but in the past few years production levels have dropped.

the single crop funding of coca has sucked all the nutrients out of the soil the trees are growing old and there's no money to replace them nowadays every penny counts. the farm is situated close to the border with togo geoff sells his country's beans to whichever country based science. and to. that the border with total is around a kilometer from there it's the. december togo is paying one euro $0.37 a kilo johnno was paying one euro 16 friend but at the end of the month togo that price had dropped to $1.00 euro $22.00 and gone as price rose so it was better sell to guns. than up before i. thought.

i'm going to load this onto a motorbike i'll take a question i mean i thought my god why are you putting it on a motorbike for your fun because there's no path there's no road or just tracks. there's no road suitable for cars in u. . well it. was very dangerous there are lots of accidents. normally the government should have built bridges but there are no bridges so if you're not careful you'll have an accident and you don't think you're going to fall but when you do sometimes a number of factors are about the limits about the effects. they're going to get the trip to the town on these old motorbikes can be very risky broken arms or legs are common although jeff's team hasn't suffered any fatalities yet. and. sadly maxwell was not so lucky he died in

a car accident as he was delivering bags of cocoa beans to the town. his aunt precious is bringing his body back to the village in a coffin shaped like a coke ipod as a gesture of ana. funerals in ghana a far from morbid to fast death is seen last as an end as the gateway to eternal life discourse of a celebration. believe in the often life it's important for families to express love and respect for the deceased to ease their journey to the other signed. sometimes burials a large a fast just like the one today. was. that the whole village is taking part.

in the women prepare a traditional dish of corned topped with a spicy sauce. the it may seem shocking to some the body is dressed in finery and put on display before it is placed back in the coffin. but that was dead.

long maxwell's family firmly believes that he has simply moved on to another life in one form or another he will be more powerful than those still living so each of them comes to talk to him to win his favor. safe journey you'll be reunited with your brother. you'll be reunited with everyone you'll be welcomed with open arms. no child will you do in your next life. after all i did for you you left me. with. was the 1st of the ruling that there is then everybody back.

to the. world up there was. a young. boy. because you can't stand. this present dynamo for 4 months his family paid the equivalent of 300 euros for the coffee and an enormous sum for people here. discount some schoolchildren give him a round final sendoff. that

often to send. because they find that the whole family and i never. had that i might find out in that found. there by the whole. i might. go on with that. would have them not really got.

after a 2 hour long ceremony the coffin is taken to the cemetary. i . fucked up but i didn't. pull a company to maxwell's final resting place where his coffin is again welcomed with scenes of joy so he can begin his new life in happiness. i. keep.

looking. through the combination nothing much chanting incense and beating of drums the burial of ashes his nephew is a friends if. i . ever. it's the way turn him this way. up.

on the plantation away from the chaos of the burial jeff and his men head off to town to sell some of them last remaining bags of coke. the 10 man transporting 650 kilos of cocoa beach. none of them have a driver's license in any case navigating through the bush isn't something taught in driving school.

it's a 50 kilometer long journey and all the drivers are a lot they want to survive this journey. 2 hours across rough terrain take a toll on the old motorbikes. over and. over and if there's a guy here who have some broken because the roads are so bumpy. and jaska.

in such bad shape it broke or is it because i got to step through this if there is that's just the kind of thing we have wired up with yours on the. motorbike is back on the road they will have to put some of the. the profits from selling the cocoa towards the repair. the group is hoping to honor around $100.00 euros which would make 10 euros per pass and. they've reached the final hurdle but it's not an easy one quality control carried out by the uncompromising joseph who buys cocoa for the government he's the one who sets the prices. and the message. that. i want to take. if the guy is good in this 2nd bite if you don't look good then he's not that i have to date. today

joseph appears to be very satisfied with the quality he pays jeff's team 200 euro 100 more than they were hoping for. with its massive deposits of minerals and oil ghana could be very rich but its economy still relies mainly on farming and fishing. making a living in the sectors is far from easy many call on higher powers to help them get by. to get out of you with the lord we have come to our place of work this morning make your blood fall upon us and protect us lord may you destroy part of it

will spear exit from india i'm a. their earth is over there. i got them i got you can start it's over there where the birds are all right now got. water oh i myself thought of here in direct competition with other boats and now so we have to cast our nets before they do and it come on that there are not a i don't want out. not to have one of them has already started fishing oh they're talking their nets too hard. they're too desperate. to send off. the crew had better hurry and 200000 boats are all competing off the conning coast as

a consequence fish stocks have steadily 25 of the years. you. were the one who. know who the who. are who are behind them. now the low level robot to go get a move on. you don't want to return home empty handed ringback. you want to keep going if you don't work you won't get paid about about. it that emanuel is the quartermaster otherwise known as the head of the crew his job is to keep his men motivated. orange it was. ringback never really. about the farmer yeah.

i didn't love it i love. food. oh well that's really the mother right now get up a room go. over there were no no no let me. go out are not. very up so we have time to recast the net once more. fishing won't make these men millionaires of course around $100.00 kilos at the most mainly just small fish. the methods of some captains who use dynamite and pesticides to turn quick profits

of forced bigger fish to retreat to deeper waters. dozens of women are keeping an eye on the horizon. but they're not waiting for the hospitals to return for see. their fishmongers. neatly left home in the morning and gather here to wait for the fishermen to come back it's the only work we can do to feed ourselves it also means i can send my children to school and i knew i mean that but i use.

the bound to be disappointed if the 15 votes separate times with an impressive whole. bottle of the fishmongers begins the. there isn't enough fish to go around. other than i want to buy the whole basket. i want to basket for 2 i do i want fish and i want some smelt. so that you know what surprised me sending them for. oh. i see we always have to go one way by. the fishermen give us a price and we negotiate if they say 100 we suggest 15 or not they say 200 we said

a 100. this is. absolutely not what it is that my basket you're filling up but go ahead fill it up to the brim. and. i'm going to smoke some of them and the others will be salted and dried in the sun or the ice you then sell them at the market. that i mean for. smoking and salting the fish prevents it from having to be refrigerated fishmongers can preserve it in this way for a week maybe more. that's why saunters vitally important in africa ghana has enjoyed a good reputation for its salt since the ancient century. drivers who transport cocoa and those who transport salt share the same treacherous routes

. gone is so cold and white gold is in demand and sold across the african continent. oh. good luck. to. you. i want to load up 2000 bags of salt. 50 to. keep a close eye on you go yeah because if there's a prob done something to us i'm missing it i have to replace it the south side of the levee not. what i might. go did you see it's a dangerous trip sometimes robbers jump onto the truck and steal the goods if the

roads bump and you have to slow down there and climb out of the truck and it kind of did. but george has no choice he has to drive slowly on these poorly maintained roads. and. george is taking this delivery eastwards to the new 200 kilometers he and his truck have been dancing to the rhythm of the potholes as he puts it. comes to you only like we're dancing at a party because of the growth and what you saw how i was dancing at the we only people like you got me down to browse a little less because that roads are so badly damaged down to the bronco doing absolutely nothing.

most coastal residents make a living from salt production that god love it that everywhere you look at our salt even when the women who dig down into the ground they find salt tickle my pocket but that. salt is one of the. and of all minerals found in abundance it's and i'm limited resource that helps people living on the coast to survive. just because there's a lot of it doesn't mean it's easy to harvest. and . it's the men who delegate and share out the work and it's us women who have to dig for the salt we have done we're told on your on the men avoid doing it themselves because it's hard work and there are more now when you are not done

you're no work like there are you. know i mean also it's us women who have to do it . you know. if you can do this all with your bare hands to get covered and so we're all go forward. in a foul that's why mine are in such a bad state i use this tool to hope that that gets me out of the wood and nails to break down the salt crystals. that have worked collecting salt for 20 years. it's a really tough job. you know one. of them oh yeah i have awful leaks and pains i have a bad back when i'm i like that but. my feet are crap to hard. they

are ruthless. that they're fed i want nice looking salt to be able to resell it i have to spread it out and examine it so i thought if it doesn't look good i won't be able to sell it for the best price i. can't be mixed up with any scent. so when it's windy the sand mixes with the salt. but i will know. so is this one.

i said i'd sell it for $200.00 no that's too much that how much would you pay for it i'll get we have $100.00 say to no money no no do you owe no deal oh yeah oh come on please. i'm not compromising. so i have my sources nice and white it's what the times i heard people just on buying any more i'll take it for one today but not this. 120 isn't enough. so no matter what i do not yesterday someone bought it for 159 no one question here don't agree i'll go buy somewhere else ok all right i'm happy today my children and i will be able to eat will have 1st comics flying. over you know my back she bought everything off me and i have money to count up how that here's the money you thank you for buying my salt may god bless you and protect you on your journey back.

to. the equivalent of 21 year old the money will last and her 2 children a week any animal she can catch a supplement to them eels. help a mighty about this is my house it's where i live all my riches are here. it's. a demo will i make everything must. with my own hands these buckets are mine i don't have what i can't find secrets to one side for a funeral is. we look at that. now we shall. now

show krauthammer writing i show my hands are damaged from the hard work i do dos. is starting to look like the hands of a leopard. now i think i feel like. john always tries to keep a smile on my face i'm also she says is you can't wear down on x. by slicing going on. in other words anything is possible with a bit of willpower and not something that can nance appear to have an ample supply no matter how obvious the task. george and his assistant of now being dancing in their trunks.

but i like my job. i was just going to pop. my desktop into drugs if i could by going to driving since i was young. when i was 12 i could already drive been the gonna work in a fossil hybrid polish molly nigeria easy area. all these years of driving have taught george patience lots of it especially when it comes to crossing borders. we have to go and check in. with george and his assistant arrived in a flower a town on the border with togo. to . evolve it did that by the

customs officers will check the goods and a condition that area they want to check that stuff hasn't caught off and will make people say you believe it was that there. was a level but that. george takes his place among the hundreds of other trucks waiting to be inspected some of been stuck here for weeks the customs officers walk at their own pace as drivers wait patiently 5 along it may take everything will get to where it needs to go just to get. back into cocoa plantation jeff is also preparing to go to tokyo he's located much closer to the border and so he's making the journey on foot. with the full flow.

you know. 1000. these are the last few bags i'm going across the border i need some c.f.a. francs that's a currency managed in the village i want to go to i needed that is that i'm taking the last few bags to sell some of them this year the quality of the cocoa isn't good at will be spoiled or the rain that ruined all the cocoa that that pool so that. these cocoa beans and good enough to be sold to kanye and buyers but in turn go jeff knows a trader who doesn't scrutinise goods 2008. and he. said he loved it and i'm not sure of the villages an hour's walk away carrying the cocoa on our heads. this is when we arrive at the border we'll cross or don't head

to the front. of the carriers it's a far from gentle stroll it got around 30 kilos on my hands. so as i want out of our service and up the area that marks the border that i'm in i have crossed the border but i'm not gonna do it oh now we're in togo so obviously once you cross it you're into it with the 10 knowledge made it and i this is open. or oil gold and other mineral resume says could make ghana one of the world's fastest growing economies. instead gone hands described that country as a sick child. who has only recovered because of the tenacity of its work force.

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this is from burlesque a political earthquake here in germany there's outrage and shock as for the 1st time a mainstream party joins up with the far right to gain control of a state government a taboo is broken and chancellor angela merkel says the deal has to be undone. also coming up this is usually a bustling commercials.