Keypoints:
- 300,000 farmers reject 2025 cocoa price
- Warn smuggling to Cote d’Ivoire, Togo
- Threaten to block regulator from farms
A COALITION of Ghanaian cocoa farmers has threatened to block officers of the state regulator from entering their farms in protest at the newly announced producer price for the 2025/26 season.
The group, representing more than 300,000 farmers, says the farmgate price unveiled by government is far below expectations and could worsen the smuggling of beans into neighbouring Cote d’Ivoire and Togo, where growers are perceived to receive higher returns.
According to Reuters, the protest signals rising tensions in the world’s second-largest cocoa producer, with farmers openly warning that they may divert harvests across borders if compensation does not improve.
Modest increase fuels anger
On August 4, Ghana set the farmgate price at 51,660 cedis ($4,783) per ton, equivalent to 3,228 cedis per 64 kg bag. The figure represents a four percent rise on last season.
But farmers argue this falls well short of the government’s pledge to pay 70 percent of the free-on-board (FOB) price used in international trade. Theophilus Tamakloe, vice-president of the Ghana Cooperative Cocoa Farmers and Marketing Association, said the correct figure should have been closer to 3,800 cedis per bag.
‘If I’m close to the Cote d’Ivoire border, probably all my cocoa beans will go to Cote d’Ivoire because the government has not been fair to us,’ Tamakloe told reporters.
Smuggling risks highlighted
The pricing gap has sharpened concerns about illegal cross-border trade. Kwame Alex, who was recently named Best Cocoa Farmer at the national awards, said the differential of around 700 cedis per bag between Ghanaian and Ivorian beans made smuggling inevitable.
‘That creates incentives for smuggling,’ Alex noted, adding that although he is not part of the coalition, the issue was becoming widespread.
Officials at the Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod) have already acknowledged heavy losses. The regulator estimates the country lost some 160,000 tons of cocoa to illegal exports in the 2023/24 season.
Threat to farm services
The farmers’ vow to exclude Cocobod officers from their lands represents a serious escalation. Extension officers play a crucial role in visiting farms, monitoring crop health and training farmers in good agricultural practices.
Without access, services including pest control advice, disease monitoring and the distribution of inputs would be severely disrupted across cocoa-growing regions.
Rising costs squeeze growers
Beyond pricing, farmers point to rising production expenses. Insecticides now cost around 150 cedis each, while equipment rentals are as high as 100 cedis per day, according to Alex.
For growers already facing weather risks, plant disease and volatile international demand, these rising costs add to the perception that the government price is inadequate.
The government has pledged to restore free fertilisers, insecticides and spraying equipment to ease the burden on growers. Yet many farmers say the support is either not reaching them or has come too late to offset immediate costs. This gap between promise and reality is fuelling suspicion in the cocoa belt.
Analysts warn the discontent also carries political overtones. Cocoa pricing has long been a sensitive electoral issue, and opposition voices often amplify frustrations to challenge government credibility. While the farmers’ grievances are rooted in real economic pressures, the standoff reflects a deeper trust deficit between growers and the state.
A deepening standoff
The row highlights growing dissatisfaction within Ghana’s cocoa belt, where the crop provides livelihoods for millions and significant export revenue for the state. Unless the government revises its approach, farmer groups warn the upcoming season could see record levels of beans smuggled to neighbouring countries.
With harvest season approaching, the standoff between farmers and the regulator could deepen, threatening Ghana’s reputation in global cocoa markets and undermining state revenues.
