Dr. Isaac Yaw Opoku (left), Randy Abbey, COCOBOD Boss (right)
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has called on President John Mahama to withhold assent to the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) Bill, 2026, and return it to Parliament for broader consultation with stakeholders, particularly cocoa farmers, before it is passed into law.
Speaking at a press conference in Accra on Sunday, Co-Chairman of the NPP Policy Committee on Agriculture, Dr. Isaac Yaw Opoku, said while the party supports reforms aimed at strengthening the cocoa sector, the current legislation was rushed through Parliament under a Certificate of Urgency.
The bill, he stated, contains provisions that could affect the interests of farmers and the sustainability of the industry.
He, therefore, appealed to President Mahama to reject the bill in its current form, arguing that administrative measures could address urgent pricing concerns without affecting the quality of legislation.
“Your Excellency the President, withhold assent and return this Bill for broader consultation. The pricing window can be handled administratively. A defective statute cannot.
“Return the Bill, consult the farmer. Fix the clauses then pass a law the whole industry can stand behind,” Dr. Opoku stated.
The opposition party’s press conference follows the passage of the Ghana Cocoa Board Bill, 2026, by Parliament in July under a Certificate of Urgency.
The party also urged Parliament, when reconsidering the bill, to amend key provisions, including Clause 4(b), which allows the Ghana Cocoa Board to assume responsibilities beyond its core mandate with ministerial approval.
The NPP noted that any expansion of COCOBOD’s mandate should require an Act of Parliament rather than approval from a minister.
Dr. Opoku also called for the publication and independent audit of the realised Gross Free On Board (FOB) price used to determine the producer price of cocoa, stating that farmers must be able to verify the figures upon which their earnings are calculated.
He also urged Parliament to maintain external cocoa marketing under the Cocoa Marketing Company (CMC), amend Clause 81 to exempt farming activities carried out under COCOBOD’s approved guidelines, defer Clause 85(2) until farmer registration was completed, and clearly define the pricing arrangement for cocoa beans supplied to local processors.
Dr. Opoku said the party was not opposed to replacing the existing legal framework governing the cocoa sector, given that the current PNDCL 81 was overdue for reform.
“We support traceability, value addition, and a guaranteed floor for the farmer’s share. Our objection is the manner of travel and provisions that will hurt the very farmers they claim to protect. A good cause has been undone by a bad process,” he stressed.
He said the bill was introduced on July 28 and passed within the same week, despite introducing major changes, including the repeal of PNDCL 81, the creation of a new regulatory framework, a tribunal, and new criminal offences.
“Certificate of Urgency is not unconstitutional, but its use must be proportionate. A pricing window that opens every September cannot justify rushing a law of this permanence,” he added.
According to him, neither national cocoa farmer associations nor other key stakeholders, including the Cocoa Carriers Association, were properly consulted before the bill was passed.
The NPP also raised concerns about the producer price formula, particularly the requirement that farmers receive not less than 70 percent of the Gross FOB price realised by COCOBOD.
Touching on local processing, Dr. Opoku argued that the requirement for at least 50 percent of cocoa beans to be processed locally lacked clarity, insisting that the major challenge facing processors was not factory capacity but access to affordable cocoa beans.
He cautioned that without proper measures, the new law could create additional burden for farmers, including possible criminalisation of routine farming activities such as tree removal for rehabilitation and disease control.
Dr. Opoku said the NPP would continue to monitor the implementation of cocoa pricing policies and demand accountability in the management of the sector.
“We support reform. We cannot support a text that criminalises good husbandry, that criminalises farmers for COCOBOD’s registration backlog, that opens the door to fragmenting external marketing, and that ties the farmer’s entitlement to a figure no farmer can verify,” he added.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah