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 prolonged delays are plunging farmers and the cocoa sector into crisis.
Speaking to journalists in Accra on Thursday, Feb. 5, Hon. Opoku said the Minority Caucus is “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 COCOBOD has not reimbursed them for cocoa already delivered. He noted that COCOBOD currently owes LBCs more than GH¢10 billion, 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,” Opoku said, adding that the situation poses serious risks to the cocoa industry and the national economy.
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 enough funds had been released to support cocoa buying, describing such assertions as “misleading.”
“The reality is that farmers have not been paid for cocoa sold to the Mahama-led NDC government since November last year,” he said.
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 relatives. Some, he said, were even forced to postpone Christmas celebrations for the first time in Ghana’s history because they had not been paid.
Hon. Opoku also criticized the government for failing to honor campaign promises made ahead of the Dec. 7 elections. He recalled that opposition figures, including Dr. Eric Opoku and Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, had promised producer prices of GH¢6,000 and GH¢7,000 per bag, respectively.
Instead, he said, the current farmgate price stands at GH¢3,625 per 64kg bag far below those assurances. He expressed concern over reports that the government may consider reducing the producer price in order to pay farmers, describing such a move as “a betrayal of trust.”
The Ranking Member further accused the government of worsening hardship instead of preventing cocoa smuggling, contrary to commitments in the NDC manifesto. He alleged that wasteful administrative spending and mass transfers within COCOBOD had deepened the financial strain, even as farmers went unpaid.
Opoku warned that the delayed payments are not only hurting farmers but also threatening the survival of indigenous cocoa buying companies and transporters whose capital has been locked up.
The Minority Caucus is demanding immediate payment to cocoa farmers for all beans sold, full reimbursement of LBCs for outstanding deliveries, and prompt settlement of future cocoa receipts. They also called for an apology from government and COCOBOD.
“Cocoa farmers are not beggars. Paying them on time is an obligation,” Hon. Opoku stressed.
