President John Dramani Mahama has returned to Accra following a high-level bilateral engagement with Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara aimed at strengthening cooperation between the world's two largest cocoa-producing nations and securing better livelihoods for cocoa farmers.
The two leaders met in Abidjan on Tuesday June 16, 2026, during the Côte d’Ivoire-Ghana High-Level Summit on the Future of the Cocoa Economy, which culminated in the adoption of a Joint Declaration reaffirming both countries’ commitment to sustainable cocoa production, fair pricing, environmental protection and value addition.
President Mahama and President Ouattara expressed satisfaction with the work of the Joint Technical Committee and stressed that cocoa farmers must remain at the centre of all policies and governance decisions affecting the sector.
With Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire accounting for about 60 percent of global cocoa production, the leaders emphasised their shared responsibility to drive reforms that promote economic justice and improve returns for producers.
A major outcome of the summit was the reaffirmation of the Living Income Differential (LID) and efforts to harmonise producer prices across both countries. The leaders agreed that aligning marketing strategies and price announcements would help protect farmers from fluctuations in global commodity markets and ensure fairer remuneration.
The summit also addressed environmental challenges affecting cocoa production, including illegal mining and climate change. The two presidents expressed concern over the impact of illegal mining activities on water bodies and agricultural lands and agreed to pursue a joint strategy to reduce the menace, restore affected ecosystems and safeguard shared water resources.
As part of efforts to improve productivity, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire pledged to strengthen collaboration between their research institutions to combat the Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease (CSSVD) and other threats to cocoa cultivation.
The leaders further committed to increasing local cocoa processing and promoting intra-African trade in finished cocoa products as part of a broader strategy to capture more value from the global cocoa industry.
They also endorsed the Côte d’Ivoire-Ghana Cocoa Initiative (CIGCI) and the African Regional Standards for Sustainable Cocoa (ARS-1000) as important mechanisms for improving traceability and sustainability within the sector.
In a move aimed at strengthening Africa’s influence in the global cocoa market, Presidents Mahama and Ouattara announced plans to open the cocoa alliance to other African producer countries.
The two leaders noted that although Africa produces about 80 percent of the world’s cocoa beans, the continent continues to receive only a small share of the global cocoa-chocolate value chain, underscoring the need for greater cooperation and industrialisation across the sector.
Summary of the Joint Declaration adopted after the summit and issued in Abidjan on June 16, 2026
1. Implementation of a common framework for determining producer prices and reinforcing market intelligence to ensure fair remuneration for farmers.
2. Recognition of the Côte d’Ivoire-Ghana Cocoa Initiative (CIGCI) and the African Regional Standards for Sustainable Cocoa (ARS-1000) as vital tools for traceability.
3. Strengthening cooperation between national research institutes to eliminate the Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease (CSSVD).
4. A commitment to processing substantial volumes of cocoa locally and promoting intra-African trade in finished cocoa products.
5. Opening the cocoa alliance to other African producers to increase Africa’s share of the global cocoa-chocolate value chain, which currently remains marginal despite the continent producing 80% of the world's beans.
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