The Western North New Patriotic Party (NPP), led by Regional Communications Officer Addo Harry, has accused the government of deliberately neglecting the cocoa sector, warning that the situation is pushing the once-thriving industry towards collapse.
In a press release dated 11 January 2026, the party said the government’s growing focus on gold trading under the GOLDBOD initiative has come at the expense of cocoa, Ghana’s traditional foreign exchange earner.
According to the NPP, the Ministry of Finance has made significant financial commitments to support GoldBod, while the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has been left under-resourced, limiting its ability to operate effectively.
The party noted that since November 2025, licensed buying companies (LBCs) across the country have not received sufficient funds to purchase cocoa from farmers at the farm gate. As a result, many cocoa farmers are reportedly sitting on large quantities of bagged cocoa without buyers, forcing them to store their produce for extended periods.
“More worrying is the acute shortage of cocoa jute sacks nationwide. For the first time in decades, cocoa buying companies are unable to access the approved jute sacks, compelling both farmers and buyers to use fertiliser sacks to store cocoa beans—a practice that compromises quality and violates international standards,” the statement read.
Describing the situation as unacceptable, the NPP called on the government and COCOBOD to act immediately by releasing adequate funds to LBCs to enable nationwide cocoa purchases and urgently supplying cocoa jute sacks to all buying companies.
The party warned that continued neglect of the cocoa sector could lead to increased smuggling of cocoa to neighbouring countries, deepening poverty among cocoa farmers, and a growing trend of frustrated farmers leasing or selling their farms to illegal miners.
“Cocoa farmers need prompt payment for their produce, and buying companies need funds and jute sacks to operate effectively,” the statement stressed, urging authorities to stop “starving the cocoa sector.”
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com