President John Dramani Mahama has assured cocoa farmers that the government is taking urgent steps to cushion them from wild fluctuations in world cocoa prices.
Speaking on measures to address the current cocoa price crisis at the Presidential Dialogue with the Private Sector at Kempinski in Accra on 24th February 2026, President Mahama said the government has taken emergency steps, including lowering the domestic producer price, to support farmers while reforms are implemented.
He outlined plans to reform the entire cocoa value chain, including increased domestic funding for cocoa purchasing, greater involvement of local licensed buying companies, and the revamp of the Produce Buying Company.
President Mahama also stressed the need to expand local value addition and processing of cocoa and other tree crops, while introducing an automatic price mechanism that ensures farmers receive 70 percent of the international market price at the prevailing exchange rate.
Additionally, he said the government will drastically reduce expenditure and eliminate waste within the Cocoa Board and retool the cocoa processing company to make Ghana a producer of value-added products rather than just raw commodities.
“Ghana must move from exporting raw cocoa to producing finished products that generate higher income for our farmers and the nation,” President Mahama said, assuring that these reforms will strengthen the cocoa sector and safeguard farmers’ livelihoods.
