Here's what President Mahama told cocoa farmers amid sector crisis

President John Dramani Mahama has expressed empathy for Ghanaian cocoa farmers amid the ongoing challenges in the sector, following a reduction in the cocoa producer price driven by declining global market prices.

The cocoa producer price has been set at GH¢41,392 per tonne, equivalent to GH¢2,587 per 64-kilogram bag. This represents a drop from the previous GH¢3,625 per bag after a sustained downturn in world cocoa prices.

According to the President, he personally owns a 50-acre cocoa farm, noting that fluctuations in cocoa pricing policies directly affect him both as a policymaker and a farmer.

Speaking at the Ghana Tree Crops Investment Summit in Accra on February 17, 2026, President Mahama said his personal investment in cocoa farming gives him firsthand insight into the challenges faced by farmers across Ghana.

“I was given 50 acres of land on which I planted cocoa, so I am a cocoa farmer. When the price was reduced by government, it affected me too,” he said.

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He added that this personal experience allows him to better understand the realities confronting farmers when policy decisions are made.

“I want to be able to empathise with them so that when we take policy decisions, we know they have an effect on farmers and we feel it ourselves. If there is no fertiliser or the price of fertiliser is expensive, I also feel it because I buy fertiliser for my cocoa farm,” he stated.

The President reiterated that government decisions regarding producer prices have real consequences for farming households and livelihoods, stressing that understanding farmers’ lived experiences is essential to crafting policies that balance economic realities with the welfare of producers.

He added that aligning policy decisions with the needs of farmers would help strengthen confidence in the cocoa sector while ensuring long-term sustainability and improved livelihoods for cocoa-growing communities.

On October 1, 2025, Côte d’Ivoire set a cocoa price 20% higher than Ghana’s, creating a big price difference that could have led to smuggling of Ghanaian cocoa to the neighboring country.

To prevent this, the Producer Price Review Committee (PPRC) raised Ghana’s cocoa price to GH¢58,000 per tonne, using an exchange rate of GH¢11.5 to the dollar. This made Ghana’s farmgate price competitive and helped stop potential smuggling.

From October 2025, the world cocoa price started to fall. Even with this decline, the Ghana COCOBOD continued selling cocoa until the price dropped below US$6,400 per tonne, which is the cost of getting cocoa from farms to the port.

“I am a cocoa farmer, so when the price was reduced by government, it affected me too. I want to empathize with farmers so that they know when we take any policy decision, we know that it has an effect on farmers and we feel it as well.” —President John Dramani Mahama… pic.twitter.com/ogN2D8BQ7K

— CITI FM 97.3 (@Citi973) February 17, 2026