President John Dramani Mahama has urged policymakers to put farmers at the centre of reforms in Ghana’s cocoa sector, saying government pricing decisions have real and immediate consequences for rural households.
Speaking at the maiden Ghana Tree Crops Investment Summit and Exhibition on Tuesday, the president drew on his own experience as a cocoa farmer to underscore the need for empathy in policymaking.
“I was given 50 acres of land, and I planted cocoa on it, so I am a cocoa farmer,” he said. “When the government reduces the price of cocoa, it affects me too. I want to empathise with farmers so that when we make policy decisions, we understand their impact on families.”
His comments come days after authorities cut the farmgate price of cocoa from GH¢3,625 to GH¢2,587 per 64kg bag — a 28.6 percent reduction — citing falling global prices and financial pressures within the Ghana Cocoa Board.
The mid-season adjustment has drawn concern from farmers and advocacy groups, who say the lower price could squeeze incomes at a time when the costs of labour, fertiliser and transport remain high.
Ghana, the world’s second-largest cocoa producer after Côte d’Ivoire, depends heavily on cocoa for foreign exchange earnings and rural livelihoods. More than 800,000 farm households rely on the crop, which also supports jobs in transportation, trading and processing.
Mahama acknowledged that recent volatility in global markets has complicated pricing decisions. Cocoa prices surged to record highs above $10,000 per tonne in 2024 before easing sharply as production forecasts improved and markets corrected.
He said such swings highlight the need for policies that protect farmers from shocks.
“Policies affecting cocoa farmers have direct consequences for livelihoods, education and household welfare,” he noted, stressing that reforms must prioritise sustainability, fairness and long-term growth.
The summit, organised with support from the Ghana Tree Crops Authority, seeks to attract investment into cocoa as well as other tree crops such as cashew, rubber, coconut and oil palm, as part of efforts to diversify the agricultural economy and boost value addition.
Mahama reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to improving pricing mechanisms, increasing productivity and ensuring farmers receive fair returns for their produce.
Aligning policy with the lived realities of farmers, he added, would be critical to safeguarding the future of Ghana’s cocoa industry and maintaining its global competitiveness.
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