The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs Committee, Isaac Yaw Opoku, has called on the government and the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to immediately pay cocoa farmers for beans sold since November 2025, warning that delays are plunging farmers and the cocoa industry into crisis.
Addressing journalists in Accra on Thursday, February 5, Mr. Opoku said the Minority Caucus was deeply concerned about the worsening conditions facing cocoa farmers, many of whom have not been paid for over three months.
According to him, Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs) have been unable to pay farmers because funds for cocoa that has already been delivered to COCOBOD have not been reimbursed.
He noted that COCOBOD currently owes LBCs more than GH¢10 billion for cocoa taken over, leaving the companies financially constrained and unable to continue purchases.
“As a result, farmers are being forced to sell their cocoa on credit, at heavy discounts, or return home with their produce unsold,” he said, adding that the situation poses serious risks to the cocoa industry and the national economy.
Mr. Opoku accused the government and COCOBOD of failing in their responsibility to reimburse the LBCs, many of which borrowed from banks and off-taker traders to pre-finance cocoa purchases. He rejected COCOBOD’s claims that sufficient funds had been released to support cocoa purchases, calling them misleading.
“The reality is that farmers have not been paid for cocoa sold to the Mahama-led NDC government since November last year,” he stated.
He painted a grim picture of the human impact of the delays, recounting cases of farmers unable to afford medication, pay school fees, or care for sick family members.
According to him, some cocoa farmers were even forced to postpone Christmas celebrations for the first time in Ghana’s history because they had not been paid.
Mr. Opoku also criticised the government for failing to honour campaign promises made ahead of the December 7 elections. He recalled that then-opposition figures, including Dr. Eric Opoku and Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, had promised cocoa farmers producer prices of GH¢6,000 and GH¢7,000 per bag, respectively.
However, he said the current farmgate price stands at GH¢3,625 per 64kg bag, far below those assurances.
He further expressed concern about reports that the government may consider reducing the producer price to pay farmers, describing such a move as a betrayal of trust.
The Ranking Member accused the government of promoting hardship instead of preventing cocoa smuggling, contrary to commitments in the NDC manifesto.
He also alleged that wasteful administrative spending and mass transfers within COCOBOD had worsened the financial situation, even as farmers went unpaid.
