The debt crisis facing the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has been linked to certain financial decisions taken by past officials.

In an interview on Friday, November 14, Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, noted that the GH¢32 billion in arrears the sector is experiencing is the result of indiscriminate contract awards by the previous administration.According to him, these contracts were awarded during the tenure of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) without proper checks or budget allocations to fund them. He disclosed that despite these challenges, COCOBOD’s financial pressures have not eased, as its weakened balance sheet prevents it from meeting its obligations.“When COCOBOD awards a contract, they have to pay the contractors, not the Finance Ministry. The previous government awarded contracts anyhow, without any sources to pay for these contracts. The COCOBOD CEO inherited GH¢32 billion worth of arrears. He cannot pay it in one year because he doesn’t have the resources. COCOBOD cannot go out and borrow because of its balance sheet, so how is it supposed to pay that?”

In May this year, COCOBOD CEO Dr. Randy Abbey expressed deep concern over the limited results achieved from a major cocoa rehabilitation initiative, despite the significant financial investment it received.

He revealed that although $263 million was borrowed to restore 156,000 hectares of cocoa farms damaged by disease, only 40,000 hectares had been rehabilitated when he took over leadership.

“If we had successfully done this 156,000 hectares, it would have contributed up to 200,000 tonnes to our production; we took all this money, and all we have to show is just 40,000 hectares completed,” he said, speaking to farmers in Nkawie in the Ashanti Region.

The rehabilitation program was introduced after nearly 40 percent of cocoa farms were found to be infected, prompting urgent intervention by COCOBOD’s previous administration—a move Dr. Abbey said was well-intentioned.

However, he added that the project later received an additional GHS700 million, and he questioned how the funds were applied, given the modest progress achieved. He disclosed that the matter is now under scrutiny by the relevant investigative institutions.

“There are agencies responsible for the investigation of these things. I am saddened by what has happened because it was the golden opportunity to turn things around in the sector,” he noted.

To reverse the trend and bolster production, Dr. Abbey said COCOBOD is currently focused on rehabilitating 21,000 hectares of abandoned cocoa farms.

He affirmed his personal commitment to seeing it through, stating, “We have left some in the bush, and that is what I am trying to go and work on them and be able to hand them over so we can add them to the productive stock of farms we have.”

He also mentioned that the new management inherited road contracts worth GHS21 billion and debt of GHS4.4 billion, posing additional challenges to the sector’s recovery.

Meanwhile, cocoa farmers will earn an extra GH₵400 per 64kg bag following a new price announced by the government for the 2025/2026 crop season.

The new price, which is now GH₵3,625 per bag, equivalent to GH₵58,000 per tonne, represents a 12.27 per cent increase over the GH₵3,228.75 per bag price announced in August.

This was revealed by the Minister for Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson, while speaking at an emergency meeting of the Producer Price Review Committee (PPRC) on cocoa in Accra on Thursday, October 2.

The upward adjustment is believed to be an effort to match local prices with gains in the global cocoa market. Meanwhile, Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has expressed its commitment to ensuring that cocoa farmers receive a meaningful and fair boost in their income, despite the hike in the dollar.

Recently, the government disclosed its intention to reintroduce free fertilisers, aimed at supporting farmers to increase production.

Finance Minister, Dr. Ato Forson, noted, “In preparation for the new season, COCOBOD has made available jute sacks and related logistics for the smooth take-off of the 2025/2026 crop Season.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, and to the cocoa farmer, I am pleased to announce that President John Mahama’s administration has reintroduced the free cocoa fertiliser programme as an additional support to the Ghanaian cocoa farmer, beginning the 2025/2026 crop year.”

Dr. Forson added that every single farmer will benefit from this initiative.“Beginning this crop year, President Mahama’s administration will supply free cocoa fertilisers (both liquid and granular), free insecticides, free spraying machines, free fungicides, and free flower inducers to farmers,” he added.

Farmers were therefore cautioned against smuggling.“Government strongly advises cocoa farmers to apply these inputs solely for the purpose of improving cocoa yield and their income. Please do not smuggle them,” he said.

Minister for Foreign Affairs, Honourable Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, and the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco, Her Excellency Imane Ouaadil, on July 28, handed over two thousand (2,000) tons of fertilizer, equivalent to 40,000 bags of fertilizer, to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

According to the Foreign Ministry, the fertilizer was donated to the West African country by the Kingdom of Morocco during the official visit of Mr Okudzeto Ablakwa to Morocco last month as part of the two countries’ commitment to sustainable agriculture to enhance food security.

Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture, John Setor Dumelo, received the donated fertilizers on behalf of the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku. He expressed gratitude to the Morrocan government for the donation. He assured that farmers will receive the fertilizers to aid crop production.

“Yesterday, 40,000 bags of fertilizer was donated to Ghana by the Kingdom of Morocco through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On behalf of my boss Hon Eric Opoku, I want to say a big thank you to Hon Ablakwa and Her Excellency Ouaadil for this kind gesture. We at the Ministry of Agriculture will ensure the fertilizers get straight to the deserving farmers as soon as possible,” he wrote in a post on the X platform on July 29.

Stakeholders in the agricultural sector have bemoaned the absence of a single chemical fertiliser plant in the country. The Institute for Fiscal Studies noted that the absence of such a plant is having an adverse impact on crop production and the contribution of the agricultural sector to the country’s economy i.e. the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The sector’s contribution to the country’s GDP declined from 26.9% in 2010 to 22.7% in 2023.

In March this year, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Dr. Said Boakye said, “We need to establish several fertiliser manufacturing plants to ensure that adequate and affordable fertiliser is available to farmers, which will help boost agricultural productivity.”

“The sad reality is that Ghana lacks a single chemical fertiliser plant. In our rice studies, we have been comparing with Vietnam, where they have more than 7,000 plants. Vietnam’s success in achieving high agricultural productivity is largely due to fertilisers being readily available to farmers at no cost, along with incentivized prices,” he added.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies has entreated the government to allocate significant funding to establish a fertiliser manufacturing plant.

COCOBOD has noted that it would not secure any syndicated loan to finance cocoa purchases for the 2025/26 crop season. According to them, the shortage of cocoa beans on the global level has informed such a decision.

“We’re not doing syndication...this year [2025], we’re not doing syndication. What has necessitated us not to do syndication is that we’re experiencing a global shortage of the cocoa bean.”

He made these revelations during an interview with Accra-based radio station, Citi FM, on Monday, August 4. The Head of Public Affairs at COCOBOD, Jerome Kwaku Sam, stated explicitly stated, that the Board had not sought syndicated financing for the 2024/2025 season and had no intention of doing so this year.

“...To be very honest, last year [2024], we didn’t do syndication, and this year [2025], we’re not doing syndication.

Mr Sam further noted that the move also reflects a strategic effort to reduce costs under prevailing market conditions.

“We’re not doing syndication whereby we’re going to incur additional expenses and what have you. That is out of the system or table for now,” he emphasized.