14/02/2026
𝗢𝗵𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗯𝗮 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝘄𝗶-𝗕𝗼𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗸𝗼, 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 (𝗔𝘀𝗼𝗸𝘄𝗮), 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝘀:
My father has spent most of his life in the cocoa sector. He was once a Purchasing Clerk with COCOBOD, at a point he was awarded a Regional Best Cocoa Farmer, and today serves as a National Executive of the Ghana Cocoa, Coffee & Sheanut Farmers Association. He owns one of the biggest cocoa farms in the country. In fact, cocoa raised me, educated me, and is still keeping my family going.
So yesterday, after the new cocoa price was announced by the Minister of Finance, my old man called me. We had a long conversation. The first thing he asked was simple but deep:
“Nana, on what basis did the government arrive at this new cocoa price?”
At that moment, I knew this was no longer about politics. This was about survival.
Fast forward to this morning, my mother, who also owns a cocoa farm called this is what she asked and it was in Twi she asked:
“Nana, wo papa se yate cocoa so 3y3 nokor3?”
I responded by saying hmmm 3y3 nokor3 she concluded by saying :
“Ei, enti CMO anidaso nyinaa ne cocoa enti CMO bɛyɛ dɛn?”
That broke me.
Now let’s discuss the real issues at hand.
Under Nana Akufo-Addo, the cocoa price which was GH¢475 was increased to GH¢3,100. The National Democratic Congress in opposition was promising GH¢6,000, telling farmers the NPP government was robbing them. Fast forward, they win the 2024 general elections and, against their own claims, the new government came in and all they could do was increase a bag to about GH¢3,200, and later to around GH¢3,600 per bag.
Farmers were unhappy but remained optimistic that things would get better soon. Now just a few months after that, the new government, which was promising heaven on earth, bragging about reduction in inflation (which does not affect lives and goods and services), started bragging about FX and reduction of fuel prices. In an interesting event, these people claimed they were doing magic as the reason for the reduction in fuel prices, failing to acknowledge external factors. Fast forward, they are running here and there associating their failure to world market conditions. I thought they said in opposition that external factors don’t have any link to our local economy and made claims that post-COVID shocks were as a result of bad management and not any external factors. What changed now?
Now let’s go back to the haircut at the cocoa sector.
Our innocent cocoa farmers, who are the backbone of our economy, made projections with the projected revenue they would make from selling their cocoa beans.
Now people planned with the GH¢3,600, yet payments were delayed due to mismanagement and poor leadership. So the innocent farmers had to depend on loans to clear school fees of their wards. Labour was hired. In fact, everything they did was done based on that GH¢3,600 price announced by a government that lacks planning. Everything about them is pure PR gimmicks.
Now, in the same season, the same government has slashed the price to about GH¢2,580 per bag.
Wetin juju be this?
This means cocoa is now being bought cheaper than what Nana Addo who they Claim managed the economy badly left it at. This has never happened in Ghana’s cocoa history. Since independence, prices are reviewed before a season starts, not halfway through when people have already invested.
You don’t change the rules after farmers have borrowed money, hired labour, paid school fees, and planned their entire year.
You cannot owe someone and then wake up one morning and decide how much you feel like paying them. That is not leadership. That is abuse of power and robbing. This is pure thievery.
As I said, I am a son of cocoa, so I understand how the system works. Most farmers take loans immediately after delivering their beans. Those loans are taken based on the price given them by COCOBOD. Now imagine borrowing at GH¢3,100 or GH¢3,500 per bag and being told months later that you’ll only get GH¢2,600 “for now”. How do we expect the farmers to pay off their debt?
This new government is having a plan to destroy innocent farmers quietly and destroy our economy as they did in 2016. I’m just sad.
Paying them GH¢2,500 will ruin their name with lenders.
It will force many of them into debt.
It will push some of them to sell their farms cheap.
It makes them vulnerable to galamsey people.
And yet this same government says it wants to fight illegal mining.
You cannot starve farmers and expect them to protect the land.
In opposition, the NDC promised cocoa farmers close to GH¢7,000 per bag. Today, in government, they can’t even maintain GH¢3,000. Shameless and clueless people manning our country.
In opposition, they said external factors don’t affect our economy. Today, every failure is blamed on world market conditions. What changed?
They raised prices for applause.
They cut them when reality arrived.
And they dumped the cost of their poor planning on poor farmers.
Cocoa farmers are not fools.
They are not beggars.
They are the backbone of Ghana’s economy.
Over 4 million Ghanaians depend directly on cocoa. If you destroy cocoa, you destroy Ghana.
This decision shows clearly that this government does not have farmers at heart. And a government that betrays farmers does not deserve even a month in office.
We must do everything manly and Godly possible to sack this clueless government from office.
Cocoa farming isn’t a curse; it’s a blessing. During my tender age at Manso Atwedeɛ, where my father served last as a purchasing clerk, whenever it was time for them to be paid, you saw them rejoicing. But this time round, all of them are crying.
Why should it be so?
Cocoa farming is not a curse. It is a blessing.
But today, it feels like a punishment.
Any media house or CSO seeking to be doing PR gimmicks for this government just so they continue robbing and destroying our country should be labelled and seen as traitors.
Our farmers must smile, not cry.
New Patriotic Party (NPP: Development in Freedom)