The minority in Parliament has called on the Government and the leadership of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to expedite the payment of arrears owed to cocoa farmers for beans sold since November 2025.
The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs Committee, Isaac Yaw Opoku, warned that further delays are plunging cocoa farmers and the cocoa sector into an irreparable crisis.
Addressing journalists in Accra on Thursday, February 5, Member of Parliament for Offinso-South, Mr. Opoku said the Minority Caucus was deeply concerned about the worsening conditions facing cocoa farmers, many of whom have not been paid for over three months.
He further disclosed that the Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs) have been unable to pay farmers because funds for cocoa already delivered to COCOBOD have not been reimbursed, noting that COCOBOD currently owes LBCs more than GH¢10 billion for cocoa taken over, leaving the companies financially constrained and unable to continue purchases.
“As a result, farmers are being forced to sell their cocoa on credit, at heavy discounts, or return home with their produce unsold,” he said, adding that the situation poses serious risks to the cocoa industry and the national economy.
At the press briefing, the Offinso-South lawmaker alleged that the government and the management of COCOBOD have failed to deliver on their mandate on reimbursing the LBCs, many of which, according to the lawmaker, borrowed from banks and off-takers traders to pre-finance the cocoa purchases.
He debunked the notion that COCOBOD has released enough funds to support cocoa buying, describing such assertions as misleading.
“The reality is that farmers have not been paid for cocoa sold to the Mahama-led NDC government since November last year,” he stated.
According to him, some cocoa farmers were even forced to postpone Christmas celebrations for the first time in Ghana’s history because they had not been paid.
Mr. Opoku also criticised the government for failing to honour campaign promises made ahead of the December 7 elections.
He recalled that then-opposition figures, including Dr. Eric Opoku and Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, had promised cocoa farmers producer prices of GH¢6,000 and GH¢7,000 per bag, respectively.
The Minority Caucus is therefore demanding immediate payment to cocoa farmers for all cocoa beans sold, full reimbursement of LBCs for outstanding deliveries, and prompt settlement of future cocoa taken-over receipts. They also called for an apology from the government and COCOBOD, insisting that prompt payment to farmers is not a favour but a duty.
“Cocoa farmers are not beggars. Paying them on time is an obligation,” Mr. Opoku stressed.
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