The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has released GH¢2.6 billion to Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs) for cocoa purchase from cocoa farmers nationwide.

Detailing the purpose of the disbursement, COCOBOD, in a formal statement released on Thursday, July 2, indicated that

“Accordingly, out of the GH¢2.6 billion released today, approximately GH¢1.4 billion has been earmarked to clear the remaining balance LBCs owe cocoa farmers for cocoa taken on credit”.

According to COCOBOD, “Since the beginning of the 2025/26 Crop Season, COCOBOD has paid an amount of GH¢34,523,447,255.64 to Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs) for onward payment to farmers”.

To ensure that all farmers owed any arrears are sorted, COCOBOD has set up monitoring systems to check the appropriate disbursement of the funds.

“COCOBOD is working closely with the Licensed Buying Companies to ensure that all affected farmers receive their payments. The Board has also instituted monitoring mechanisms to ensure that the funds reach the farmers who are owed,” parts of the statement noted.

Commending cocoa farmers for their patience towards government. It went on to assure that all farmers owed will be sorted in due course. However, it urged all farmers with outstanding debt to contact the appropriate authorities.

“COCOBOD acknowledges the patience, resilience, and understanding demonstrated by cocoa farmers during this challenging period and wishes to assure all cocoa farmers that no farmer will be denied payment for cocoa legitimately sold through the approved cocoa purchasing system.

“Farmers with outstanding payments are encouraged to engage the relevant Licensed Buying Company through which they sold their cocoa. COCOBOD will continue to work with all stakeholders to ensure the full settlement of outstanding obligations”, the statement added.

The release of these funds underscores the Government's commitment to safeguarding the welfare of cocoa farmers and preserving the integrity of Ghana's cocoa industry. COCOBOD remains committed to protecting farmers' interests and ensuring that they receive the full benefits of their hard work.

This release comes about just three months after the government disbursed an additional GH¢4.2 billion to the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to be given to Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs) for onward payment to cocoa farmers who have been owed since November last year, at a time when some cocoa farmers continued to wallow in discontent over the producer price cuts in mid-February.

Speaking in an interview with Citi Business News, the Head of Public Affairs at COCOBOD, Jerome Sam, highlighted his outfit’s commitment to clearing all outstanding debt before the end of the 2025/2026 cocoa season, expected around August.

“We hope to complete all payments before the close of the season, which is expected to end around August or September,” he stated.

He continued that the GH¢4.2 billion was released by COCOBOD around last week to the Licensed Buying Companies to facilitate payments to farmers.

He explained that while some farmers are still owed, others have already received payment due to existing financing arrangements between COCOBOD and the Licensed Buying Companies.

Jerome Sam added that COCOBOD remains focused on improving liquidity within the cocoa purchasing system to ensure prompt payments to farmers and sustain production across the country’s cocoa-growing areas.

“Some of the payments are recent, while others are older. Since 2023, when we experienced challenges with the syndicated loan, Licensed Buying Companies sometimes stepped in to pre-finance cocoa purchases. COCOBOD later reimburses them for those purchases.

“That is why some farmers are not owed by the LBCs, while others still have outstanding payments. As COCOBOD, we are working tirelessly to ensure that every cedi owed to the Licensed Buying Companies is paid so they can also settle any outstanding debts with their cocoa farmers,” he explained.