Parliament has passed the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) Bill, 2026, introducing wide-ranging reforms aimed at strengthening the cocoa sector and guaranteeing cocoa farmers at least 70 per cent of the Free on Board (FOB) export price.
Presenting the Bill, Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Nyarko Ampem said the legislation establishes COCOBOD as the statutory body responsible for regulating, overseeing and monitoring activities across the cocoa value chain. It also provides a legal framework for the Producer Price Review Committee and introduces a new funding model that will enable COCOBOD to source financing locally to purchase cocoa from farmers.
The Bill also seeks to improve local value addition by ensuring greater access to cocoa beans for domestic processors and encouraging partnerships with local and international stakeholders. In addition, it strengthens regulatory enforcement by giving statutory backing to key compliance measures, including quality inspections, certification requirements and cocoa take-over procedures.
The legislation formally places COCOBOD under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance, in line with the government’s 2025 policy directive, and introduces measures to support public-private partnerships, environmental protection and the growth of small-scale cocoa processing businesses.