Fiifi Boafo, Former Head of Public Affairs at COCOBOD
Former Head of Public Affairs at Cocobod, Fiifi Boafo, has rejected President John Dramani Mahama’s assertion that the current cocoa producer price represents the best outcome for Ghana.
Addressing Parliament in his 2026 State of the Nation Address, Mahama announced that the cocoa producer price, which has been adjusted downward to GHC41,392 per tonne, equivalent to GHC2,587 per bag, for the rest of the 2025/2026 crop season, is the best for Ghana.
The president explained that severe liquidity constraints within the cocoa sector made the revision necessary, noting that maintaining the previous price would have compelled the government to secure billions of cedis in additional borrowing, a move he warned could undermine recent gains in restoring fiscal stability.
Speaking to Ghanaweb’s Western Regional Correspondent, Thomas Tetteh, in a reaction to the President’s remarks during the recent State of the Nation Address, Fiifi Boafo argued that the reduction in the cocoa producer price cannot be justified as beneficial to farmers.
At the beginning of the cocoa season, farmers were reportedly assured of a minimum guaranteed price of GH¢3,625 per bag. However, the government later announced a revised producer price of GH¢2,587per bag.
Fiifi described the reduction, nearly 30 percent as a significant setback for farmers who had already invested in farm maintenance, inputs and labour based on the earlier projected figure.
He questioned how a farmer who prepared his farm expecting GH¢3,625 per bag could remain motivated after receiving GH¢2,587 instead.
“After making that investment, after preparing the farms, buying farm inputs and paying farm hands, you now pay the farmer GH¢2,500. How does that motivate the farmer?” he questioned.
The government has explained that the price adjustment was necessitated by falling global cocoa prices. At the time the Finance Minister announced the revised rate, international market prices had declined from earlier highs.
But Fiifi Boafo criticised the approach, arguing that cocoa pricing should not be based solely on prevailing or spot market prices at the time of announcement.
He maintained that authorities should rely on weighted averages and forward contracts when fixing producer prices.
According to him, the failure to sell cocoa when global prices were higher contributed to the current shortfall, and farmers are now bearing the cost of that decision.
“We are here because the government decided to sell at the wrong time, allowed the market to fall, and then decided to sell at a lower price,” he said.
The debate also highlights the financial challenges facing the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD).
Estimates indicate that the Board requires about GH¢2 billion to purchase additional cocoa at the new rate, while outstanding arrears to farmers reportedly exceed GH¢11 billion.
Although cost-saving measures, including salary adjustments, are projected to save about GH¢40 million, Fiifi Boafo argued that such measures are insufficient compared to the scale of the financial gap.
He stressed that the focus should not be partisan but centred on the welfare of cocoa farmers.
In his view, any measure that does not restore the originally expected GH¢3,625 per bag fails to address the core concern.
“Whether it is NPP or NDC, the farmer is losing, and any solution that does not restore the farmer to the initially expected GH¢3,625 per bag fails to address the core problem”, he stated