We remain focused on our mandate to sustain and grow cocoa industry - COCOBOD

The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has urged the public to disregard the Minority’s statement, which seeks to politicize a strategic and forward-thinking policy decision of the Board.

The Board said it remained focused on its mandate to sustain and grow the cocoa industry, ensuring that it continued to contribute meaningfully to Ghana’s economy and the livelihoods of cocoa farmers across the country.

A statement issued in Accra by Mr Joseph Boahen Aidoo, the Chief Executive of COCOBOD, invited all stakeholders, including members of the Minority, to engage in constructive dialogue and collaboration to support the continued growth and development of Ghana’s cocoa sector.

The Board said the statement issued by the Minority in Parliament on August 21, 2024, contained several falsehoods, inaccuracies, and misrepresentations regarding the current state of the Cocoa sector and COCOBOD’s decision to wean itself of syndicated external borrowing to create more value for farmers.

It said the assertion by the Minority Caucus that the International Banks had rejected the Ghana Cocoa Board’s request and that COCOBOD was ‘chased away’ from the market was false.

The statement said this was so because syndicated banks submitted term sheets in response to COCOBOD’s earlier Request for Proposals for consideration.

It said indeed, notwithstanding our intentions to wean off syndicated transactions, there were committed contracts that needed to be fulfilled through the syndicated process.

These transactions have necessitated a discussion with financial institutions, and nothing in this process indicates to us, a lack of confidence in COCOBOD’s creditworthiness from these financial institutions.

It said for the avoidance of doubt, the proposed decision to explore non-syndicated funding is part of a broader strategy to diversify sources of funding, making the Board more self-financing and sustainable in the medium to long term, deriving more value for farmers and retaining more value within the Ghanaian economy.

The statement said the Minority’s claim that the Board had made continuous losses was highly uninformed, adding a loss of GHS4.2 billion in 2023 was false.

It said in fact, COCOBOD’s 2023 accounts audited by Ernst & Young (EY) showed a profit of GHS2.3 billion during the 2022/2023 Crop Season, marking a significant turnaround from the previous year’s performance.

“This financial success is a demonstration of the effectiveness of the strategic initiatives undertaken by COCOBOD, including cost-cutting measures, improved operational efficiency, and targeted investments in key areas of the cocoa sector.”

It said the Minority’s claim that COCOBOD’s decision to source funding domestically is a ‘face-saving’ measure to hide its financial difficulties was categorically untrue.

The statement said whereas world market prices from 2017 to 2022 were at a record low (down 30 per cent), producer prices were sustained to safeguard and sustain the industry.

It said the Minority could not deny that the same period of financial challenges had witnessed massive investments in key innovations, interventions, and productivity enhancement programmes.

This includes the digitization of cocoa farmer households and farms into a comprehensive cocoa farmer database, national cocoa traceability system, pruning of cocoa farms, hand pollination, the introduction and use of motorized pruner-slasher machines, and rehabilitation of cocoa swollen shoot virus diseased farms, a fundamental debilitating condition for which the NDC government under former President John Mahama failed to achieve.

It said the assertion by the Minority about a consistent reduction in production under the current management of COCOBOD was false.

The statement said it was important to note that Ghana recorded its highest-ever cocoa production volume of 1.045 million metric tonnes during the 2020/2021 crop season.

This historic achievement was a direct result of effective management practices and targeted interventions by the Board, including improved agronomic practices, enhanced farmer support, and strategic investments in the cocoa sector.

It said while recent production levels had faced structural challenges, including adverse weather conditions (i.e., last year’s devastating El Nino force majeure) and the impact of the CSSVD, it must be reiterated that COCOBOD had implemented significant interventions and mitigation measures.

The statement said the Minority was fully aware that the future of Ghana’s cocoa was secured with the successful rehabilitation of 74,813 farms, spanning 67,385.43 hectares, owned by 56,105 farmers.

These farms now thrive with hybrid, disease-tolerant cocoa varieties that have started bearing fruits, and the volume of cocoa from these farms will continue to increase in the years ahead.

Out of the 74,813 farms rehabilitated and now at various stages of growth, 44,480 farms covering 40,150.40 hectares, belonging to 28,510 farmers, are yielding as of August 2024 and will soon be handed back to their owners.

It said because of the positive measures and programmes currently being infused into the sector, cocoa farms in the transition belt that were converted into cashew cultivation when the Minority were in power with former President John Mahama were being turned back to cocoa under the present government.

The statement said contrary to the Minority’s claims, the government remained fully committed to the cocoa sector.

The government had invested heavily in the sector, including the construction of roads in cocoa-growing areas, the provision of subsidized fertilizers and pesticides to farmers, and the implementation of the cocoa rehabilitation programme.

It said the claim that the government had “destroyed” the cocoa sector was false and failed to recognize the complexities of the global cocoa industry and the proactive steps being taken by COCOBOD and the Government to ensure the long-term sustainability of Ghana’s cocoa industry.