Cocoa Farmers Aren’t Beggars, Pay Them Immediately- Minority Demands

The Minority in Parliament has demanded immediate payment of the unpaid cocoa farmers, maintaining that they are not beggars.

Addressing the press on February 5, 2026, in Parliament, the Ranking Member of the Agric and Cocoa Affairs Committee, Dr Isaac Opoku, stated that paying farmers is not a favour but an obligation that must be duly honoured by the government.

“We call on the government and the cocoa board to pay our cocoa farmers immediately for all cocoa beans sold and to be sold to save the cocoa industry from slipping back to days of despondency and loss of interest,” he said.

According to him, the least the farmers deserve for their hard work is prompt payment.

“The farmers have tended their farms through harsh weather. They have spent huge resources to control pests and diseases. They have toiled to harvest their farms and sold them to the government in good faith, yet months later, they are still waiting for weeks unend to be paid. Is this the resetting which was promised to the good people of Ghana, or the reversing of the cocoa industry?, farmers are asking”

In addition, he called for an apology from the government and COCOBOD, as he deems the payment delay a gross dereliction of duty.

“We demand that our cherished cocoa farmers be treated better and with dignity than what we are seeing now. Cocoa farmers are not beggars. Paying cocoa farmers is not a favour, it is an obligation,” he added.

The Minority is also demanding reimbursement to Licensed Buying Companies (LBC) as it observes that LBCs have also been at the receiving end of the current situation

“COCOBOD must reimburse the LBCs of all outstanding repayments of cocoa purchased and delivered and must also ensure the prompt repayment of subsequent deliveries and Cocoa Taken-Over Receipts (CTORs) to avoid the recurrence of this despicable situation in the future.”

“By delaying repayment of the cocoa taken over from the LBCs, these businesses and investments are at risk. They have their working capital locked up, their progress hindered, and their financing competence undermined. Contrary to what the NDC preached, pre-election time to promote indigenous business and investment, they have rather rest to kill indigenous companies, businesses and enterprises in the cocoa industry.”

Story by Hajara Fuseini

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