We’ll revive Ghana’s collapsing cocoa sector – Mahama

Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has pledged to revive Ghana’s struggling cocoa industry.

He also promised to implement comprehensive measures to restore its prominence and ensure better livelihoods for cocoa farmers.

Speaking during an engagement with the Western Regional House of Chiefs in Sekondi, he indicated that the incumbent government, over the past eight years in power, has run down the cocoa industry, resulting in a production deficit and debts to the sector.

The former president outlined plans to address the sector’s challenges, including improving pricing structures, supporting farmers with better technology, and enhancing the overall infrastructure in cocoa regions.

Mahama said, “Our cocoa production has reduced to barely 400,000 tons. Meanwhile, the government has taken a loan of 350,000 tons of cocoa, so the next government has about 350,000 tons of cocoa debt to pay."

“They have now increased the price of cocoa to make farmers happy. Meanwhile, most of the cocoa farms have been destroyed by diseases such as swollen shoot,” he stated.