A former General Secretary of the General Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU), Edward Kareweh, has urged the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to consider lowering the farm-gate price of cocoa to enable the regulator to pay farmers for their produce.
Speaking on Business Focus on Monday, 9 February 2026, Kareweh said cocoa prices should be adjusted, as has been done for other crops, to protect the long-term sustainability of the sector amid a slump in global commodity prices.
He said the problem stemmed from COCOBOD’s financial constraints and a sharp fall in world cocoa prices, which are currently below the farm-gate price paid to farmers.
“If you maintain this type of farm-gate price, COCOBOD will collapse because it will not have the money to pay farmers. Once you do not have the money to pay them, it is better they receive something than nothing at all.” he said
Kareweh added that although cocoa beans are available, COCOBOD is unable to purchase them, leaving farmers without income.
He further noted that, “The beans are there, but COCOBOD cannot buy them, and so farmers do not get paid. If the price is reduced and part of the amount is paid, it is better than losing everything. This is one of the major problems we need to correct, and COCOBOD should take this opportunity, together with government, to change this mindset.”
His comments follow COCOBOD’s inability to make payments to farmers since November last year.
Meanwhile, Ghana is the world’s second-largest producer of cocoa, with hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers dependent on the crop for their livelihoods.
COCOBOD sets the farm-gate price each season to shield farmers from volatility on the international market. However, a recent downturn in global cocoa prices, coupled with financial pressures on the regulator, has raised concerns about its ability to meet payment obligations and sustain the sector.
By Coffie Mawuedem Noel
