Some of the aggrieved cocoa farmers
Aggrieved cocoa farmers in the Assin North District of the Central Region have registered their displeasure over the reduction in the cocoa producer price for the remainder of the 2025/2026 crop season by staging a demonstration to protest the development.
The protesters cited, among other reasons, that the new cocoa price will lower their standard of living, negatively affect the welfare of their households, as well as reduce their ability to support their families.
The protest drew disgruntled farmers from Assin Dansame, Asempanaye, Praso, Breku, Nuaso, and other communities in Assin North, to express their disagreement with the government’s announcement. They included traditional rulers, cocoa purchasing clerks, and chief farmers.
Addressing the media after the demonstration, the Chief Farmer of Assin Brasiako in the Assin North District, Ransford Quainoo, expressed worry that the slash in the cocoa price would have a severe impact on his ability to cater for his children’s education.
“I have worked as a cocoa farmer for 40 years and have not witnessed this before. With the new price, I can no longer pay the fees of my children who are at the university,” he lamented.
Mr. Quainoo appealed to the government to either maintain the previous price or honour the price promised during the 2024 election campaign. He stressed that the government’s failure to reverse the cocoa price reduction would worsen the situation for farmers, making them even more impoverished.
“When you take your cocoa to the purchasing clerk, they toss you around regarding payment. They have not been able to pay us since last year. They say the government has not released funds. Then we only hear that the government has reduced the price when it actually promised increments during the campaign period,” Mr. Quainoo added, as other farmers expressed agreement with his assertion.
On her part, the Aduana Queenmother of Assin Dansame, Nana Ama Dede, expressed concern about the development. She explained that it would affect the lives of her subjects.
“The government and Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) have not been fair to us. This is not what they promised. Now my people will have difficulty meeting their daily financial obligations,” she said.
A cocoa purchasing clerk also explained that delays in paying for already supplied cocoa beans had made it difficult to pay farmers. According to him, the situation had become unbearable, as farmers frequently confronted him and his colleagues over delayed payments, with the recent price reduction worsening the situation.
He called on authorities to urgently address the concerns of farmers to prevent further unrest within cocoa-growing communities.
“The pressure on us is too much. Since September, we have not received funds to pay the farmers. I think the authorities must do something about this situation before it escalates into something else in the cocoa-growing areas,” noted a cocoa purchasing clerk who joined the demonstration in the Assin North District.
The government, through the Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, on February 12, 2026, set the new cocoa price at GH¢2,587 per bag and GH¢41,392 per metric tonne for the remainder of the 2025/2026 crop season. This represents about 28 percent of the previous price of GH¢3,625 per bag and GH¢58,000 per tonne.
This announcement has sparked widespread reactions from cocoa farmers across the country, with those in the Assin North District demonstrating to express their displeasure.
By Kweku Afriyie, Central Region