Price slash painful but we don’t have any other option than to take it — Cocoa Farmers

The Ghana National Cocoa Farmers Association has expressed grave concern over the recent reduction in cocoa farmgate prices following months of financial crisis in the sector.

The Minister for Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson, has announced a cut in the producer price of cocoa from GH₵3,625 to GH₵2,587 per bag for the remainder of the 2025/2026 crop season.

The farm gate price per tonne has also been reduced from GH₵58,000 to GH₵41,392; a difference of GH₵16,608, following what government says is a sharp drop in world market prices.

Speaking on Accra-based Joy News’ AM Show on Friday, February 13, Nana Aduna II, Spokesperson for the Association, said the structure of Ghana’s cocoa marketing system leaves farmers with little room to negotiate or resist such decisions.

“It’s unfortunate, because we are even struggling with the cost of production. We have been struggling with the GH₵3,600 per bag, and now they’ve reduced it,” he said.

According to him, cocoa farming has become increasingly capital intensive, with rising labour costs compounding the difficulties faced by producers.

He pointed to the growing competition for farm labour from illegal mining activities, popularly known as galamsey, which he said continues to distort the rural labour market.

“One of the big challenges and the interrelationship with cocoa farming and galamsey is the cost of labour,” Nana Aduna II explained.

“You are juggling with getting especially the younger men and women to help with pruning. Cocoa is very capital intensive, so you can’t compete with what galamsey is offering.”

Despite the frustration, the farmers’ spokesperson acknowledged that farmers are constrained by the current regulatory framework, where prices are determined centrally.

“The price reduction is painful. However, in the way that our cocoa system is set up right now, farmers have no other option but to take it,” he noted.