Most Rev. Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi
There is no letup to the cocoa crisis as the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference steps into the fray.
In a strongly-worded statement last week, the highly revered Catholic grouping expressed concern about the crisis which has gripped this critical sector of the economy.
The Friday, February 20, 2026 statement, signed by Most Rev. Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, who is the Bishop of Sunyani and President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, notes “the deepening crisis in Ghana’s cocoa sector and its devastating impact on farmers and rural communities.”
While the recent reduction of the cost of cocoa by government has created untold hardships for farmers, the Bishops notes how the delayed payments for cocoa already delivered and running into many months has led to challenges of unpaid labour, school fees, mounting debts and vulnerability to illegal mining by the farmers.
Farmers, they stated, should not bear the brunt of the fluctuations of the international market for commodities. “Farmers must not bear the full burden of systemic and historical failures. At the very least, existing producer prices should be maintained where increases are not feasible. During years of windfall gains, producer prices were not raised proportionately. Equity and justice therefore demand that accumulated surpluses be used to cushion farmers in difficult years. To penalise them for circumstances beyond their control would be insensitive and morally indefensible,” the Conference stated.
The Conference expressed worry at what it described as “Ghana’s weakening position in the global cocoa economy. Ecuador is on course to overtake Ghana as the world’s second largest cocoa producer, while the combined output of Nigeria and Cameroon threatens to form a powerful third force. These shifts, alongside climate stress and land degradation from illegal mining, place Ghana at a strategic crossroads.”
The Bishops have therefore called “for the immediate payment of all arrears, transparent financial restructuring of the Ghana Cocoa Board, sustained producer prices, intensified investment in productivity, and a depoliticised national dialogue centered on farmers’ welfare. Youth participation, research, and local processing must be prioritised to secure the sector’s future.”
While announcing that a detailed pastoral letter has been transmitted to the President and the leadership of Parliament, the Bishops added that “the rescue of Ghana’s cocoa industry is not merely an economic task. It is a moral imperative. Justice for cocoa farmers is justice for Ghana.”
