The Minority in Parliament has told President John Dramani Mahama to immediately dismiss the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Dr Randy Abbey, over the ongoing crisis facing the cocoa sector.
According to the Minority, the recent reduction in the producer price of cocoa will have serious consequences for cocoa farmers and their families.
Speaking to journalists in Accra on Thursday, February 12, the Ranking Member on Parliament’s Economy and Development Committee, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, stated, “… Respectfully, we ask the president to relieve the COCOBOD Board CEO of his responsibilities at this point in time.”
“The NDC government should absorb the cost of what they have done and protect the cocoa farmer, and restore at least the GH¢3,625 that they promised. This GH¢2,800 or so that they are promising is totally unacceptable.
“Already, we are receiving messages from cocoa farmers who say that if this is what is going to happen, they are going to demonstrate in a number of days. And if they do, we will join them on the streets to do this demonstration,” he warned.
Also, the Minority in Parliament strongly slammed the John Mahama-led government’s decision to reduce the cocoa producer price.
According to the minority caucus, the move is unfair to farmers and detrimental to the sector.
The minority demanded a reduction in the salary of public sector workers in line with the decline in farmgate prices of cocoa.
The minority further quizzed whether the Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD’s salary and allowance would be reduced by the same margin.
Addressing the media on Thursday, February 12, Ranking Member on the Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs Committee, Dr Isaac Yaw Opoku, stated, “This has never happened. Why are we treating cocoa farmers this way? The cocoa farmer has never enjoyed the full benefit of the FOB price. Cocoa farmers have sacrificed for this country”.
“If the cocoa farmer’s price is going to be reduced by almost 30 per cent, then everybody’s pay in this country should also be slashed by that margin. Is the Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD’s salary and allowance going to be reduced by the same margin?. Today is a sad day for the country. The President should come again. Cocoa farmers deserve better,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the minority demands follow the Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, who has announced a revised cocoa price of 64kg cocoa bag from GHS 3,625 to GHS 2,587 for the remainder of the 2025/2026 season.
According to Ato Forson, the decision comes after the Producer Price Review Committee (PPRC), under his chairmanship, convened earlier in the day to assess the challenges facing the Cocoa sector.
Speaking during a press briefing on Thursday, February 12, Dr Forson disclosed, “The PPRC has recommended that the farmer be paid 90% of the achieved gross fob of USD 4,200 per tonne”.
He added that the committee set the new producer price at GH₵41,392 per tonne, equivalent to GH₵2,587 per bag, effective immediately.
“As a result of that, the PPRC thereby announces that effective today, Thursday, 12th February, 2026, the new producer price for the remainder of the 2025, 2026 crop season will now be GH 41, 392 per tonne and 2,587 per bag,” he noted.
“This measure is necessary to enable the expedited payment of farmers and to guarantee the sustainability of our cocoa industry,” he said.
Watch the video below:
The Minority in Parliament is calling on President Mahama to immediately dismiss the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board, Dr. Randy Abbey, over the ongoing crisis facing the cocoa sector.
— CITI FM 97.3 (@Citi973) February 12, 2026
Watch full video here: https://t.co/vJBwPQ3Pd6#CitiNewsroom #ParliamentGH… pic.twitter.com/hAX4uS3etx