Ghanaian women in cocoa farming are calling on President John Mahama and the newly elected National Democratic Congress (NDC) government to fulfill their campaign promise of increasing the cocoa producer price to a minimum of GHS7,000 per bag.
According to the farmers, they voted massively for the NDC in the December 7th General Elections because the party assured them of better cocoa pricing.
They recalled that while in opposition, the NDC criticized the previous Akufo-Addo-led administration for underpaying cocoa farmers despite raising the price to over GHS3,000 per bag. At the time, the NDC argued that Ghanaian cocoa farmers were being shortchanged, as the world market price exceeded GHS9,000, and COCOBOD regulations mandated that farmers receive two-thirds of the international price.
Now that the world market price has risen beyond GHS10,000 per bag, the women insist that anything less than GHS7,000 would be unacceptable.
They have warned the NDC government that failure to meet this demand will lead to demonstrations and could cost the party their votes in the 2028 elections.
Madam Martha Addai, President of the Brong Ahafo Women Cocoa Farmers Union (BAWCOF), voiced this concern on behalf of cocoa farmers during a training workshop on deforestation regulations and productivity enhancement. The program, held in Techiman, the Bono East Regional capital, was organized by the Ghana Civil Cocoa Platform in collaboration with the European Union.
Mr. Ebenezer Osei Sakyi, a Convener from the Ghana Civil Cocoa Platform and a resource person for the training, provided insights into the European Union’s Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and its impact on Ghana’s cocoa sector.
Participants, who represented four selected districts across the Bono East, Bono, and Ahafo regions, also shared their experiences regarding the future of cocoa farming under the new administration.
