An agitated cocoa purchasing clerk has lamented over COCOBOD’s prolonged payment delays to cocoa farmers.
He described the situation as unprecedented in his 20 years of work.
According to the clerk, he purchased cocoa beans on behalf of Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs), but now farmers have been chasing him for their money due to months of unpaid arrears.
Speaking during the People’s Forum in Abuakwa South, the Cocoa purchasing clerk lamented, “From November till now, I can’t sleep. I have taken about 250 bags of cocoa from farmers, and they are always at my doorstep demanding their money.
In my 20 years as a purchasing clerk, I have never seen a situation where cocoa is bought, and the government cannot pay,” he said at a recent People’s Forum in Abuakwa South.
Some Ghanaians reacting to the Cocoa purchasing Clerk’s remarks stated, “NDC must capitalise on this to make this MP lose the seat to their Advantage, Politics 101 version 20.26 page 12. Change the negative narrative pushed by your opponent and capitalise on it using the Aspiring MPs to control the constituency, preparing for the next Elections”.
Another X user added, “Some people, Ankasa no get shame. Three months and you’re all over the place. When you were getting paid in the eighth month before this crisis, did you organise press conferences to praise the government for buying Cocoa even though you created a deep shit at the Cocobod?. Mmom Opposition adwuma y3 den paa”.
“This is the reason youth don’t like to go into the farming sector because officers are even enjoying and their farmers are crying how but who watch them”, an X user added.
Also, the President of the Ghana National Association of Cocoa Farmers (GNACOF), Stevenson Anane Boateng, has revealed that cocoa farmers have not been paid for their produce purchased by the government since November 2025.
Speaking in an interview on Frontline on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM, Stevenson Anane Boateng explained, “The government is buying our cocoa but has refused to pay us. Since November, we have not been paid. They accept the cocoa, but they don’t pay us”.
When asked what might have caused the delay, he responded: “We don’t know. We are not part of the government, so please, you need to ask them why they have refused to pay cocoa farmers. This is troubling, and we want the government to address our concerns.”
Meanwhile, COCOBOD CEO Randy Abbey has disclosed that the Board is working with the Ministry of Finance to settle arrears owed to cocoa farmers.
“We are looking at a model that does not tie our hands with respect to the collateralisation of the raw bean, because we want a funding structure that facilitates and supports value addition,” he said.
“Any financing structure that limits the Board’s ability to prioritise value addition will not be considered.”
“We pay our farmers a price of over US$5,000 per tonne, while cocoa is trading at just over US$4,000 per tonne on the international market,” he said.
“When I assumed office, there was no official vehicle for me. I had to use my personal vehicle to enable us prioritise the procurement of vehicles for operational duties,” he said.
“How do we expect staff to deliver if there are no vehicles for them to perform their functions?” he asked.
Watch the video below:
“From November till now, I can’t sleep. I’ve taken 250 cocoa bags from you (Kingsley Agyeman, Abuakwa South MP). The farmers are at my doorstep every time. I’ve never seen anything like this in my 20 years as a purchasing clerk — where we buy cocoa and the government can’t pay.… pic.twitter.com/NJmm0KFPq5
— Joy 99.7 FM (@Joy997FM) February 8, 2026