The Minority in Parliament has warned that the country’s cocoa sector could face serious decline if government decisions lead to a reduction in producer prices ahead of the next cocoa season.
Isaac Yaw Opoku, Member of Parliament for Offinso South who also serves on the Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs Committee, said farmers could lose confidence in cocoa production if policies affecting the sector are driven by politics.
The price reduction, from GHC3,625 to GHC2,587 per bag, has sparked anger among farmers who accuse the government and the Ghana Cocoa Board of failing to protect their interests.
Speaking to Asaase News during a visit by Minority MPs to cocoa farms in the Ashanti Region, Opoku cautioned against potential changes to pricing arrangements for the upcoming 2026/27 cocoa season.
“There could be a possible reduction. You wait. The 2026/27 season will be opened either in August or September,” he said.
“You wait and see whether I am doing propaganda or not. If this happens, then the cocoa industry will collapse. You cannot do politics with cocoa.”
Weakened incentives
Ghana, the world’s second-largest cocoa producer after Côte d’Ivoire, typically announces the producer price for cocoa before the start of each new season, which usually begins in August or September.
Opoku said any decision that weakens incentives for farmers could discourage production at a time when the sector is already facing challenges including disease, climate pressures and rising production costs.
“This situation has never happened in this country of this country and so if you do that you will not be encouraging cocoa farmers to go into farming,” he added.
Poor trading structure
He also criticised the current trading structure in the sector, suggesting it has been poorly implemented.
“I am hoping that the government will listen. They got the trading system wrong,” Opoku said.
Cocoa is one of Ghana’s top export earners and supports the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers across the country.
Officials have yet to comment on whether producer prices for the 2026/27 season could change.
Tour
Minority Members of Parliament, led by the Minority Chief Whip and Nsawam-Adoagyiri MP, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, have begun a week-long tour of cocoa-growing communities in the Ashanti Region to assess the impact of recent reductions in cocoa producer prices.
The MPs commenced their tour with a courtesy visit to the Offinsomanhene, Nana Dwamena Akenten II, and the Queenmother, Nana Adwoa Afranewaa III, during the Akwasidae celebration at Offinso on Sunday.
The delegation sought the blessings of traditional leaders ahead of engagements with farmers across the region.
“Our mission is simple: to listen to the concerns of our hardworking cocoa farmers and better understand the challenges they are facing, particularly the impact of the recent cocoa sector ‘haircuts’ introduced by the Mahama administration,” Annoh-Dompreh said in an earlier statement on Facebook.
Petition
The MPs said the tour would allow them to gather firsthand information from farmers and represent their concerns in Parliament.
They also plan to formally brief the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, on issues raised during the engagements.
Receiving the delegation, Nana Dwamena Akenten II welcomed the MPs and encouraged them to address farmers’ concerns with fairness and a national outlook, cautioning against excessive partisan politics.
This Ashanti Region tour follows a similar exercise in the Eastern Region, where the Minority engaged cocoa farmers to assess the effects of falling producer prices and other sectoral challenges.
