Nana Aduna II, the spokesperson of the Ghana Farmers Association, has questioned the fairness of the cocoa price reduction.
Speaking on JoyNews AM Show, Nana Aduna II quizzed why only cocoa farmers are taking the hit and not COCOBOD staff salaries too.
According to Nana Aduna II, if COCOBOD staff are also taking a hit on their salaries, too, it would create a fairer system and a level playing field for farmers.
Nana Aduna II on the show stated, “The question we would like to ask is, why are only farmers taking the hit? When you look at the trajectory of our cocoa system, there’s the farmer, the haulage system, licensed buying companies, and COCOBOD. That’s before the beans are even exported. So why is the farmer alone taking the hit?”
“The first step should have been to reduce the salaries of staff and the margins that the government makes by the same amount,” he stated.
“If COCOBOD staff were also affected, it would create a fairer system and a level playing field for farmers.”
“Farmer groups have been made poor and weakened over time. There is very limited collective bargaining. So how do we fight back? What tools do we have? Do we just put our hands behind our backs?” he asked.
Also, the minority in Parliament has 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.
Their comments follow 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.
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