Dozens of cocoa farmers on Friday, February 20, 2026, picketed the headquarters of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) in Accra, intensifying nationwide protests against a recent reduction in producer prices and persistent delays in payments.
Carrying placards and chanting slogans, the demonstrators accused the government of betraying cocoa farmers who sustain one of Ghana’s most important foreign exchange earners.
Prominent inscriptions on placards included: “We worked, you lied,” “Government celebrates but our families mourn,” and “We can’t pay our kids’ school fees,” capturing the widespread anger and economic hardship being felt in farming communities.
The protest at COCOBOD’s head office follows earlier demonstrations in several cocoa-growing districts, notably in the Western North Region, where farmers have marched through major towns to register their grievances.
The farmers are demanding two main actions: an immediate upward review of the farmgate price and the full settlement of all outstanding payments owed to them by Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs) operating under COCOBOD’s supervision.
Speaking to journalists, one visibly frustrated female protester said: “The prices were not reduced under the previous regimes; why is this administration reducing it? We have no problem with the government, they should just leave the prices to remain the same.”
Many protesters explained that the combination of the price cut and delayed payments has made it nearly impossible to cover essential household expenses, including children’s school fees, medical bills and basic farm inputs needed to prepare for the next cropping season.
“We depend entirely on cocoa. When payments delay or prices drop, our families suffer,” one demonstrator told reporters, adding that a growing number of farmers are unable to invest adequately in their farms this season.
The current unrest was triggered by the government’s February 12, 2026 announcement of a mid-season adjustment to the producer price for the remainder of the 2025/2026 crop season. The new farmgate price was fixed at GH¢41,392 per tonne (equivalent to GH¢2,587 per 64kg bag), representing a roughly 28–29% reduction from the earlier GH¢3,625 per bag level.
COCOBOD and government officials attributed the downward adjustment to a steep fall in global cocoa prices on the world market and ongoing liquidity challenges facing the Board, insisting the measure was necessary to safeguard the long-term sustainability of the sector and ensure timely payments going forward.
Although COCOBOD has released substantial funds to Licensed Buying Companies — including an initial GH¢237 million covering 50,000 metric tonnes and a subsequent GH¢854 million disbursement as of February 19 — numerous farmers insist the money has not yet filtered down to the farmgate level.
Farmer organisations have warned that continued hardship could drive many producers to abandon cocoa cultivation altogether or drastically reduce investment in their farms, with serious implications for Ghana’s future cocoa output and export earnings.
The sector continues to face multiple headwinds, including volatile international prices, declining yields in some traditional growing areas, smuggling pressures and mounting financial strain on COCOBOD.
