Otokunor Defends Cocoa Price Reduction, Says Gov’t Has Been Fair To Farmers

Director of the Presidential Initiative on Agriculture, Dr Peter Otokunor Boamah, has said that the Mahama administration has been fair to cocoa farmers.

He stressed that there is a need for cocoa farmers to benefit from their toil.

“If the international price is 52,00 let’s make an adjustment so that the farmers can get 70 per cent of the returns…we have been fair to the farmer in the last year. No government has been more truthful and fairer to Ghanaian Cocoa farmers than the John Mahama-led administration,” he said on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday, February 14.

90% of FOB to cocoa farmers

Mr. Peter Boamah Otokunor, further indicated that, the government is currently paying cocoa farmers more than 90% of the Free-On-Board (FOB) price a move he describes as unprecedented in Ghana’s history.

According to Dr. Otokunor, the current administration has prioritised fairness and transparency in cocoa pricing to ensure farmers receive the full benefits of rising international market prices.

He maintained that no government in recent years has been as deliberate in improving farmers’ earnings.

“We wanted to be true and fair to the cocoa farmer. In fact, no government has been true and fair to the cocoa farmer like we have done in the past year. And we are doing so because we want the cocoa farmer to get the full benefit of what they are supposed to get,” he stated.

He argued that until 2025, cocoa farmers were not paid more than 70 per cent of the FOB price. He contrasted the current pricing regime with that of 2024, when the previous administration announced GH¢3,000 per bag.

Dr. Otokunor explained that although the announced figure was presented as representing 76 per cent of the cocoa price, the actual international FOB price at the time was significantly higher.

“At the time, they had signed a forward contract of about GH¢3,200. And so when they sell it at GH¢3,000 per bag, they were doing 7% of that price. But the actual price on the international market was GH¢9,600, which is the FOB price,” he said.

He contended that pricing must be based on prevailing international market values rather than forward contracts that may not reflect real-time conditions.

“When you are doing the analysis, and you want to be fair to the people, you price according to the price on the international market, not the forward sales that you have locked in,” he stressed, adding that between 2023 and 2024, farmers effectively received about 25 per cent of the FOB price.

Dr. Otokunor said the current policy ensures that farmers benefit directly from favourable global prices.

“Indeed, at the current price, $3,700, the FOB price, if you look at this value and the amount we are paying to the cocoa farmer, it is beyond 90%, and it has never been done in the history of Ghana. In fact, the 90% of FOB price that we are paying to the farmer is historic since the days of Tetteh Quarshie,” he said.

He described the policy shift as a corrective measure aimed at aligning domestic cocoa prices with international market realities while ensuring farmers are adequately rewarded for their labour.

Background

The Mahama government has announced a downward adjustment of the cocoa producer price for the remainder of the 2025/2026 crop season, setting it at GH¢2,587 per bag, down from the GH¢3,625 set at the start of the season.

The decision was disclosed by the Minister for Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, during an emergency press briefing on Thursday, February 12, 2026.

The move follows a critical Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday to address a deepening liquidity crisis that has left thousands of farmers unpaid for months.

The price reduction is a direct response to a volatile international market. While cocoa prices reached historic highs of over $12,000 per tonne in late 2024, they have since plummeted by over 63% year-on-year, trading around $3,772 per tonne as of February 2026.

This “demand destruction” where high chocolate prices led consumers to buy less coupled with a projected global surplus of 287,000 metric tonnes for the current season, has forced Ghana to realign its farmgate prices with international realities.

Dr. Ato Forson announced that Cabinet has directed the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to begin immediate payment to all farmers currently owed for their beans. Reports indicate that some farmers have been without pay since November 2025, leading to severe hardship and the detention of some purchasing clerks.