By Akua Barden
On the morning of 16 February, a cocoa farmers’ representative spoke candidly on Radio Ghana about the sharp reduction in producer prices. His tone was measured, but the message was clear: farmers are hurting.
Not long ago, cocoa was trading at close to $8,000 on the international market. Today, it hovers around $3,500 to $3,600. That is a dramatic collapse. When the global price drops that steeply, it is unrealistic to expect the domestic producer price to remain untouched. Nonetheless, understanding the math does not erase the pain.
Farmers who were earning the equivalent of GH¢3,625 per bag are now losing roughly GH¢1,000 on the same bag. For a smallholder farmer, that is not a marginal adjustment. It is school fees. It is fertiliser. It is household food. It is survival.
So yes, farmers are justified in feeling disappointed. There is, however, another side to this story. The interview made an important point: Ghana is currently paying farmers close to 90 to 95 percent of the Free on Board (FOB) price. In fact, by some calculations, Ghana, as the second-largest producer, is still paying higher than Côte d’Ivoire, the largest producer, and other neighbouring producers when exchange rates and prevailing prices are factored in.
That matters, especially in a region where smuggling is always a risk, particularly when price gaps widen.
Ironically, the fear may not be cocoa leaving Ghana, but cocoa entering Ghana. Reports suggest that some Ivorian traders are already negotiating sales in Ghana cedis because Ghana’s effective farmgate price is more attractive. In a fully liberalised market, in countries such as Togo, Nigeria and Cameroon, farmers negotiate directly with buyers. Ghana’s system remains more centralised, but it is still competitive within West Africa.
The real question, then, is not whether Ghana is paying the highest price in the region, but whether the current system can protect farmers from global volatility.
The farmers’ representative proposed what many in the sector have long demanded: legal price regularisation. A law that guarantees farmers a fixed percentage — say 70 percent — of the international FOB price would create predictability. Whether prices go up or down, farmers would know their guaranteed share. No surprises. No sudden shocks.
That kind of reform would not eliminate volatility, but it would reduce uncertainty.
Another urgent reform is financing. Ghana’s cocoa sector has leaned heavily on external borrowing and foreign support. When global prices dip and debt obligations rise, pressure shifts quickly to farmers. If domestic funding mechanisms were strengthened, and if the sector could raise more local capital, the country would have greater room to cushion producers during downturns.
There is also the long-standing conversation about value addition. Government has spoken about processing at least 50% of raw beans locally. On paper, that is the right direction. But processing without markets creates a new problem. Butter, liquor and powder must have guaranteed buyers. Expanding local processing must go hand in hand with market development, export partnerships and financing for indigenous processors. Otherwise, the bottleneck risks shifting from farms to factories.
The interview also touched on a sensitive issue: subsidies. Input subsidies, when politicised, distort the system. Contracts awarded through patronage do not always deliver quality inputs to farmers. Empowering farmer cooperatives to procure their own inputs, with government oversight to ensure standards, may reduce waste and improve accountability.
But beyond policy, there is morale. Some farmers, frustrated by falling prices and delayed payments, have considered abandoning cocoa altogether. Some have sold farm lines. Others have been tempted to lease land for illegal mining. That is a dangerous path. Once cocoa trees are cut and land is degraded, recovery is costly and slow.
Encouragingly, there are signs that the Ghana Cocoa Board has begun settling payments owed to Licensed Buying Companies, which should ease liquidity constraints and speed up farmer payments. Timely payment, even at a lower price, can soften the blow. In agriculture, cash flow often matters as much as price levels.
Meanwhile, communication remains the sector’s weakest link. As the farmers’ leader rightly noted, a lack of information fuels anger. When producers do not understand why prices fall or how they are calculated, suspicion grows. Regular, transparent communication among farmers, regulators, traders and government is not optional. It is essential.
Ghana’s reputation for premium cocoa remains intact. No one disputes the country’s quality standards, from harvesting to fermentation and drying. But premium quality alone will not secure farmer livelihoods if structural weaknesses persist. The fear is that if Ghana’s price per bag remains higher than that of neighbouring producers, and the gap is huge, it may encourage smuggling into Ghana, with the likelihood of diluting the country’s esteemed quality.
If cocoa is truly the backbone of the economy, then reform cannot be cosmetic. Price regularisation, domestic financing, serious value addition, depoliticised subsidies and consistent communication must move from talking points to action.
Volatility in global commodity markets will persist. That is beyond Ghana’s control. It is, in fact, a phenomenon associated with all markets. What is within Ghana’s control is how it prepares its farmers for those swings.
The farmer on Radio Ghana ended with a plea for patience and hope. That hope must be matched with policy courage. Because when cocoa prices fall, farmers feel it first. And if they lose faith in the crop, the entire nation eventually pays the price.
