-as Nationwide Stakeholder Engagement Begins on Landmark Cocoa Board Bill, 2026
– GH¢33 Billion Legacy Debt, New Law to Rescue Ailing Cocoa Sector
TNR Files
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Dr. Randy Abbey, on Yesterday Wednesday August 5 mounted the podium in Accra to deliver a stark message to the nation: Ghana’s cocoa sector is in intensive care, but a new legislative framework offers the best chance of recovery.
At a media encounter that laid bare the scale of the crisis inherited by the current administration, Dr. Abbey revealed that COCOBOD was saddled with a staggering GH¢33 billion legacy debt comprising procurement obligations, road contract awards, loans, and other financial commitments accumulated under previous management.
“This is the most precarious position in the board’s nearly 80-year history,” Dr. Abbey said, disclosing that the institution inherited a negative equity position of GH¢3.8 billion the first time in COCOBOD’s history that liabilities have exceeded assets.
The GH¢33 billion debt burden includes approximately $185 million (GH¢2.04 billion) owed to Licensed Cocoa Buyers (LBCs), with some members reportedly going unpaid for two consecutive seasons.
Financial records at the end of 2024 indicated a cumulative debt of GH¢32.9 billion and a negative equity position of about GH¢3.9 billion, meaning the institution’s liabilities significantly exceeded its assets.
Dr. Abbey explained that the debt encompassed multiple areas: procurement contracts, road infrastructure commitments, loans, and other financial obligations that had accumulated over years of fiscal mismanagement.
The New Cocoa Board Bill, 2026: A Structural Overhaul
At the heart of the revitalisation strategy is the Ghana Cocoa Board Bill, 2026, which Parliament passed on Thursday, July 30, and which now awaits presidential assent. The new law repeals the decades-old Ghana Cocoa Board Act, 1984 (PNDCL 81), replacing it with a modernised statutory framework designed to align Ghana’s cocoa regulatory framework with current industry realities.
Dr. Abbey outlined the comprehensive process undertaken before and during the passage of the bill, noting that the drafting had already been initiated before his tenure but was fast-tracked to reflect both present challenges and the foreseeable future of the sector. The Ministry of Finance, he revealed, worked closely with external consultants to ensure the legislation addressed critical gaps in the existing legal regime.
Key provisions of the new law include:
Protecting Cocoa Farms: The Controversial Provision
One of the most debated aspects of the new legislation is the designation of cocoa farms as protected lands, making it an offence for farmers to convert their farms to other uses without obtaining official approval from COCOBOD. The law applies regardless of whether the land is privately owned, family land, or stool land.
Dr. Abbey defended the provision, explaining that existing laws had allowed other agencies such as the Minerals Commission to grant prospecting licences that permitted entry onto cocoa farms. The new law, he said, closes this loophole and protects cocoa farms from illegal mining activities, popularly known as galamsey, which continue to threaten cocoa production across the country.
However, the provision has drawn sharp criticism. Kennedy Osei Nyarko, Member of Parliament for Akim Swedru, described it as a “draconian” measure that infringes on the rights of cocoa farmers to determine how their land is used.
“How can you come and tell me, an individual, that I acquired my land, or my family has given me land, and I’m planting cocoa trees on it? You are telling me that when I plant the cocoa tree, and at a point in time I realise that the cocoa is not doing well, or I need to change and grow a different crop, whether palm oil or rubber, I need approval from the Cocoa Board before I plant it? What kind of law is that?”
He warned that the provision could discourage cocoa production rather than protect it.
Perhaps the most significant reform introduced by the new law is the overhaul of COCOBOD’s financing model. For 32 years, COCOBOD relied on the syndicated loan structure to finance cocoa purchases. However, following Ghana’s debt restructuring, the institution could no longer access syndicated loans, forcing it to resort to a buyer-led funding model that has proven unsustainable.
The new law introduces a fresh financing framework that will allow COCOBOD to source funds locally to purchase cocoa beans from farmers. Dr. Abbey confirmed that the institution will abandon its long-standing reliance on the cocoa syndicated loan and adopt a domestic financing model for the 2026/27 crop season.
The new financing arrangement will draw on pension funds and cedi-denominated commercial papers and notes as part of government’s broader reforms to reduce dependence on foreign borrowing. Dr. Abbey expressed confidence that the new financing model would be operational by August and predicted it would attract strong investor interest.
The new law also gives legal backing to government’s policy of ensuring cocoa farmers receive a minimum of 70 per cent of the Free on Board (FOB) price of cocoa. Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Nyarko Ampem, who spoke during the parliamentary debate, argued that embedding the policy in law would protect farmers from future policy reversals.
“Apart from the policy announcement that government has made that we want a minimum of 70 per cent of the FOB price of cocoa to go to the hardworking farmers, we should go further to legislate this so that it becomes very binding for nobody to get up tomorrow and say, ‘We said 70 per cent, but today we are doing 60 per cent,'”
The new law introduces a value-addition mandate requiring that at least 50 per cent of Ghana’s cocoa production be processed locally. This is intended to create jobs, add value, and reduce the export of raw cocoa beans.
The Deputy Finance Minister explained that the existing financing model, which depended heavily on forward sales contracts using cocoa beans as collateral, had limited the availability of cocoa beans for domestic processing industries. The new arrangement, he said, will make beans available for local processing companies.
The new law addresses long-standing public concerns regarding institutional overhead costs and the management of the annual cocoa syndicated loan facility. Under the 2026 framework, COCOBOD is legally mandated to present regular, audited financial statements directly to Parliament.
It also establishes an independent oversight committee to monitor the distribution of critical agricultural inputs, such as fertilisers, seedlings, and specialised equipment, to eradicate political favouritism and supply chain leakages.
Following the media encounter, Dr. Abbey and his management team launched a nationwide stakeholder engagement campaign to educate cocoa industry participants about the new law. The initiative began at Cocoa House in Accra, bringing together representatives from cocoa farmer-based organisations, civil society groups, and the Licensed Cocoa Buyers Association of Ghana (LICOBAG).
The engagement programme, which will be expanded to regional, district, and cocoa society levels, is intended to build confidence in the new framework and support the smooth rollout of the legislation across the country’s cocoa-growing regions.
Beyond domestic reforms, Dr. Abbey revealed that Ghana is working to expand regional cooperation in the cocoa sector by encouraging Nigeria and Cameroon to join the existing alliance between Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. The four countries collectively account for about 70 per cent of world cocoa production, and a broader alliance would strengthen Africa’s bargaining power in the global cocoa market.
The Ghana Cocoa Board Bill, 2026, will now be transmitted to the President for executive assent, after which the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Ministry of Finance, and COCOBOD will publish the specific operational guidelines for its immediate rollout.
For Dr. Randy Abbey and his team, the task ahead is monumental: stabilising an institution burdened by GH¢33 billion in debt, implementing a new funding model, protecting cocoa farms from illegal mining, and ensuring that Ghana’s cocoa farmers the backbone of the economy receive a fair share of the global market revenue.
“The Ghana Cocoa Board Bill, 2026, is not merely a legal document; it is a blueprint for the modernisation and sustainability of our cocoa sector,” Dr. Abbey declared.
Whether the blueprint will translate into reality depends on the collective will of all stakeholders government, farmers, buyers, and processors to embrace the reforms and navigate the difficult path ahead.