Flagbearer of the opposition NPP, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is preparing to announce a solution to the crisis that has hit the cocoa sector since the assumption of office of the John Dramani Mahama led NDC government.
This follows the receipt of a report from the Minority Caucus on the real issues confronting the cocoa sector after touring farming communities across the country.
The cocoa sector saw a series of challenges following a drop in world prices of the leading foreign exchange earner as the Mahama=led government chose to reduce the farm gate price to GH¢41,392 per tonne and GH¢2,587 per bag for the remainder of the 2025/2026 crop season, citing a sharp fall in global market prices and mounting liquidity pressures within the sector.
Announcing the decision at a press conference in Accra on Thursday, February 12, 2026, the Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, said the adjustment was necessary to reflect current international price realities while protecting farmers’ incomes as much as possible.
This announcement was met with widespread protests from cocoa farmers across all cocoa growing areas despite attempts by government functionaries to spin the narrative around the reduction in prices.
Minority To the Rescue
Following the growing concern from cocoa farmers, the flagbearer of the NPP, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia commissioned the Minority Caucus to find out what the real concerns of the farmers were.
After weeks of touring farms across the country, the team led by the Minority Chief Whip, Honourable Frank Annoh-Dompreh presented their report to the former Vice President.
Speaking during the presentation, Dr. Bawumia said the report would be forwarded to the party’s Policy Committee on Agriculture, Food Security and Agribusiness for technical review and further consultation with experts.
“What I am looking at with the presentation of this report is to take this Select Committee report to the Policy Committee on Agriculture, Food Security, and Agribusiness. We are going to ask this committee to technically review the findings, consult experts in the area, and then bring forward costed policy alternatives for us,” he said.
The expected policy alternative is anticipated to form part of broader discussions on stabilizing Ghana’s cocoa industry and improving producer conditions.
Source: tolonradio.com