President John Dramani Mahama, has summon an emergency Cabinet session to tackle the brewing issues at the cocoa sector. The session will seek to address all issues affecting the sector which for years as served as a backbone of the economy.
The meeting is slated for Wednesday, February 11, 2026. The decision was announced by Minister for Government Communications and spokesperson to the president, Felix Kwakye Offosu on Tuesday, February 10.
“President Mahama has called an emergency cabinet session for tomorrow, Wednesday, 11 February, 2026, to address all issues affecting the cocoa sector”, he posted on Facebook.
The decision follows the recent reports in the media suggesting that cocoa bought since last year by Licensed Cocoa Buyers Association of Ghana (LICOBAG), have not been paid. The lack of payments have not affected every cocoa farmer but those affected have decried the delay, highlighting their concerns in the media.
Cocoa farmers associations have blasted the government and COCOBOD,, which regulates pricing, purchases and export of cocoa, for not doing enough to solve the problem. They have rejected explanationsd offered by the managers of the sector.
They ecried how COCOBOD despite having all the qualified human resource, they have for decades failed to find sustainable ways to purchase and pay cocoa produced. Reports suggest that the delay in payment has persisted since November 2025.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of COCOBOD, Dr Randy Abbey, days ago sought to explain away the situation by moving from one media house to the other. He is billed to return to his former programme Good Morning Ghana on Metro TV to offer further explanation tomorrow Wednesday.
According to him, aside the huge mounted debts, the problem has also been largely due to the payment module after Ghana’s inability to access the syndicated loan.
His apology to the farmers and explanation that the Finance Ministry and the COCOBOD are almost close to finding a new payment system was received well.
Ghana has been relying on the syndicated loans for several decades. But due to the economic downturn suffered in recent past, COCOBOD could not secure it for the 2024-25 crop season. Recent reports say, payments have resumed in some areas.
It is hoped that, the emergency meeting which is expected to assemble ministers, sector experts, government officials will lead to them finding a lasting solution to the development.
More soon
By Gifty Boateng