Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has announced a major package of reforms aimed at correcting what he described as years of mismanagement in Ghana’s cocoa sector and ensuring fair and stable prices for farmers.
Speaking at a press briefing at the Ministry of Finance on Thursday, February 12, the minister said Cabinet has approved wide-ranging measures to restore financial stability in the industry and secure its long-term sustainability.
Key reforms include the immediate payment of all outstanding arrears owed to cocoa farmers, the introduction of an automatic producer price adjustment mechanism linked to global prices and exchange rate movements, and a proposed law to guarantee farmers at least 70 per cent of the gross Free-On-Board (FOB) price.
Government will also replace the current buyer-dependent financing structure with a new model beginning in the 2026/2027 crop season, backed by the issuance of domestic cocoa bonds to fund cocoa purchases and create a revolving financing system for COCOBOD.
As part of efforts to strengthen local participation, indigenous Licensed Buying Companies will be revived, while the state-owned Produce Buying Company will resume full operations with immediate effect. The Cocoa Processing Company is also to be revived as a priority.
In addition, Cabinet has directed that the remaining cocoa beans for the 2025/2026 crop year be allocated for domestic processing, with a minimum of 50 per cent of Ghana’s cocoa output to be processed locally from the 2026/2027 season under a new COCOBOD Bill.
Dr Forson said the reforms are intended to protect farmers’ incomes, expand value addition through local processing and restore financial discipline in the cocoa sector.