Ghana's Vice President champions cocoa sector reform at Global Gateway Forum

Ghana’s Vice President, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, has called for bold reforms in cocoa sector financing and value addition to ensure sustainability and fairness for African producers.

Speaking at the Sustainable Cocoa Initiative Scale-up Session during the Global Gateway Forum in Brussels on Friday, October 10, 2025, she emphasised the need to empower small-scale processors and improve farmer livelihoods across the continent.

Reflecting on Ghana’s cocoa legacy, from Tetteh Quarshie’s first beans to over 800,000 farmers today, Professor Opoku-Agyemang stated, “Our story reminds us that sustainability must go hand in hand with fairness.”

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She highlighted the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a transformative platform for building regional value chains that retain more wealth within Africa.

However, she cautioned that financing remains a major obstacle.

“Investments often concentrate in multinational or state-owned facilities, leaving local processors struggling with high borrowing costs and limited access to capital,” she noted.

To address this, the Vice President proposed structured blended financing models that combine capital investment with affordable working capital, risk-sharing mechanisms, and technical support, especially for small and rural processors.

She also pointed to the EU Sustainable Cocoa Initiative and the Global Gateway Framework as key vehicles for crystallising such partnerships.

According to her, the recent surge in global cocoa prices, driven by supply shortfalls, underscores the urgency of coordinated action to build resilience in the sector.

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Professor Opoku-Agyemang reaffirmed Ghana’s commitment to quality, noting that the country’s grading and control systems remain among the most rigorous globally. She added that recent reforms at the Ghana Cocoa Board are designed to promote fairness and boost investor confidence.

“Ghana’s path forward is clear; we must move beyond exporting raw cocoa beans to building an economy that empowers farmers, creates decent jobs, and promotes sustainability. Together, we can build a cocoa sector that not only sweetens the world’s palate but enriches the lives of the farmers and communities who make it possible,” she said in a post shared on Facebook.

VKB/MA

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