Mr Antwi Boasiako-Sekyere, the Eastern Regional Minister has disclosed that the Region is trailing in cocoa production due to the destruction of farmlands and plantations by illegal mining (galamsey) activities. The Regional Minister disclosed this, at meeting with the Board of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) in Koforidua, when members paid a courtesy call on him at the start of a three-day visit to the Eastern Region. The Minister observed that sadly because the health hazards in the galamsey activities are ignored, those involve contract diseases that kill them fast, denying them the opportunity to enjoy their booty. 500 and releasing of seized machines back to them was a disincentive that cannot in any way help curb the galamsey menace. Nana Danso Agyei Ababio, chairman of the Board, indicated that galamsey is a menace and causing huge devastation of water bodies in many parts of the country of which the Eastern Region is no exception.