The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Bekwai, Ralph Poku-Adusei, has accused the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government of deceiving cocoa farmers through retrospective price reductions and diverting resources to luxury expenditures instead of settling arrears.
In an interview on Abusua FM on February 23, 2026, Poku-Adusei described the NDC’s handling of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) as poor management that has betrayed the very farmers the party promised to uplift during its time in opposition.
The MP zeroed in on the recent 28% cut in the producer price of cocoa, which saw the farm-gate price drop to GHC2,600 per bag after the NDC had campaigned aggressively on raising it to GHC6,000 from levels around GHC3,600–3,650 under the previous administration.
He condemned the decision to apply the price reduction retrospectively to cocoa already delivered by farmers months earlier.
“When a price is fixed, it takes prospective effect and not retrospective effect,” Poku-Adusei insisted.
“The cocoa farmers who are crying over prices today are farmers who supplied their cocoa months ago but are now being told of a reduced price because of a fall in world market prices. Is that how you deal with poor farmers? The truth is they are deceiving the farmers,” he added.
Poku-Adusei argued that the government cannot legitimately invoke global price falls to justify non-payment or reduced payments for produce already handed over, especially when funds appear to have been channelled elsewhere.
He accused the administration of cheating farmers by failing to honour even the lowered GHC2,600 rate for past supplies while prioritising other spending.
The Bekwai legislator pointed to what he called misplaced priorities under COCOBOD CEO Dr Randy Abbey, alleging that money has gone into purchasing large pickups, luxury SUVs, allowances, per diems and other non-essential items.
“They have not seen the reason to address all of these issues but have found the need to buy large pickups and luxury SUVs,” he said.
“Today, when Randy Abbey wants to visit a cocoa farm, his chair is carried in a dedicated car. If they were truly committed to the affairs of the farmers, they would’ve at least settled the GHC2,600 that they have reduced the price to,” he added.
Poku-Adusei framed these actions as a direct betrayal of the “juicy promises” the NDC made to win farmer support ahead of the 2024 elections.
“They knew the cocoa price was determined by world price but went ahead to make juicy promises to the farmers. After telling these lies to attain power, they are now focusing on buying cars,” he charged.
“You can’t tell us that for cocoa that was supplied to you six months ago you couldn’t pay and now, having channelled the money into buying luxury cars, you are telling us you can’t pay,” he added.
While acknowledging that cocoa prices are influenced by international markets, the MP rejected the NDC’s heavy reliance on this explanation as an attempt to deflect responsibility for domestic mismanagement.
He recalled the NPPP cautioning the then-opposition against unrealistic promises without proper consultation, only for the government to later adopt a risky strategy, which he said had backfired.
Representing a constituency where roughly 60% of the population depends on farming, with a significant number engaged in cocoa production, Poku-Adusei stressed the personal stake he has in the issue.
“My researchers monitor, analyse and report everything happening at COCOBOD to me every morning, and the situation is bad. It is poor management that has brought us here,” he said.
