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President Akufo-Addo Announces Gh¢1,308 As Price Per Bag Of Cocoa; The Highest In West Africa
The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Saturday, announced GH¢1,308 the new producer price per bag of cocoa at an event in Tepa, in the Ashanti Region.
Speaking at the event, President Akufo-Addo stated that, until recently, international prices of cocoa had remained very low, and made worse by COVID-19, adding that, in spite of this, COCOBOD and Government have been taking the very hard decision of increasing producer price of cocoa.
“Cocoa prices have increased from seven thousand, six hundred cedis (GH¢7,600) per tonne in 2016, to twelve thousand, eight hundred cedis (GH¢12,800) per tonne in 2022, a significant increase of sixty-eight percent (68%). This has had an adverse impact on COCOBOD’s financial performance,” he said.
Acknowledging that the sustainability of the entire cocoa industry hinges on a well remunerated producer, who is willing to invest in business only with the certainty that Government will pay the appropriate price, the President stated that Government, in keeping with its promise to cocoa farmers has increased the producer price.
According to President Akufo-Addo, Government has “increased cocoa prices from twelve thousand, eight hundred cedis (GH¢12,800) per ton, to twenty thousand, nine hundred and forty-three cedis (GH¢20,943) per ton, or one thousand, three hundred and eight cedis (GH¢1,308) per bag. That price is seventy-point-five percent (70.5%) of the Gross FoB price, and is equivalent to one thousand, eight hundred and twenty-one dollars ($1,821) per ton.”
This, the President indicated,” is the highest price to be paid to cocoa farmers across West Africa in some fifty (50) years. With the predicted stable prices above two thousand, six hundred United States dollars (US$2,600) threshold, Government will continue to honour our famers with good prices in the years ahead. Indeed, better days are ahead.”
Unprecedented Transformation
Describing the cocoa landscape as witnessing an unprecedented transformation under his government, President Akufo-Addo noted that the productivity enhancement programmes being implemented by COCOBOD are having a positive impact on productivity, incomes and climate resilience.
COCOBOD, the President said, continues to undertake the rehabilitation of diseased farms free of charge through the programme, explaining that the programme entails a one-off payment of compensation to both the land owner and the tenant farmer, and involves cutting, treatment and replanting of the affected farm, and the maintenance of the farm for a period of two (2) years before it is handed over to the farmer.
“In addition to the payment of compensation of one thousand cedis (GH¢1000) per hectare, paid separately to both land owner and tenant, COCOBOD bears the entire cost of the cutting, treating, replanting and maintenance for two (2) years before it is handed over to the farmer. Compensation paid to both landlords and famers stands at one hundred and twelve million six hundred and eight-six thousand, and forty cedis (GH¢112,686,040) as at September 2022,” he said.
COCOBOD, the President noted, has also rolled out a Contributory Scheme, under the new Three-Tier Pension Scheme for cocoa farmers. Enrolment has started, and will continue, and will, thus, make way for contributions from farmers and COCOBOD in the coming season.
COCOBOD, he said, is expected to contribute some seventy-four point five million cedis (GH¢74.5million) to the fund this year.
“The Scheme will enable cocoa farmers also to save towards their retirement, so as to guarantee income security, improved living standards in their old age, and motivate the youth to venture into cocoa farming,” he stated.
President Akufo-Addo continued, “This is the first successful attempt to give effect to section 26(1) of the Ghana Cocoa Board Act, 1984, PNDCL 84, which provides for the setting up of the Scheme. This has been made possible because of the implementation of the cocoa management system, which has provided the needed data and digital foundation for the Scheme to be successful.”
Co-operation between Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, in the cocoa industry, he stated, has already yielded good results for the industry, following the adoption and implementation of the Living Income Differential (LID).
“The LID is an additional amount of four hundred United States dollars ($400) per ton on the price of cocoa, paid on every ton of cocoa purchased from Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire. The LID is paid fully to the farmers, as a cushion to adverse effects of low international prices of cocoa. The LID has increased the average farmers’ income by seven hundred United States dollars ($700) per ton. It is the first successful attempt by producer countries to influence incomes of cocoa famers through an international pricing mechanism,” he added.
Government, the President stated, has also rolled out a digitisation programme to digitize all operations of the sector, enhance traceability and efficient management of the domestic supply chain, through a comprehensive, integrated digital database that captures farm and farmer information, including the physical conditions of farms and farmer household characteristics.
Under the industrialisation drive, he indicated that “value addition in the cocoa industry has increased significantly, from thirty percent (30%) of annual output in 2016 to forty-eight percent (48%) in 2022. The target of processing fifty percent (50%) of the production locally is within immediate reach.”
He continued, “The promotion of domestic consumption is also beginning to yield results. Domestic enterprises have emerged strongly under the 1D1F initiative for the processing and manufacturing of various cocoa based products across the Districts. COCOBOD has taken a giant step to support small scale and artisanal chocolate manufacturing with business-friendly guidelines that provide access to premium Ghanaian beans, even at the district level.”
Through these innovations, President Akufo-Addo noted that some one hundred and thirty thousand (130,000) jobs have been created, reiterating that “Government will, through COCOBOD, continue to adopt innovations aimed at improving the welfare of the Ghanaian farmer through the implementation of productivity enhancement programmes and remunerative producer pricing.”
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Focus on more pressing issues like Galamsey, not hate speech – Ellen Ama Daaku to Mahama
An aide to former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia,Ellen Ama Daaku has advised President John Dramani Mahama to shift his attention from social media hate speech to more urgent national issues such as illegal mining.
Speaking in an interview, she noted that the President’s recent comments about tracking the IP addresses of people who spread hate speech were unnecessary.
According to her, President Mahama must first define what he considers to be hate speech before seeking to punish people for it.
Ms. Daaku argued that the President himself had benefitted from hate speech and social media attacks in the past when he was in opposition.
She said even during his time in government, he described his opponents and their tribesmen in unpalatable terms, which later drew complaints from former President Nana Akufo-Addo to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference.
She stressed that harsh criticism of leaders on social media should not automatically be considered hate speech, adding that former leaders, including former President Nana Akufo-Addo had all been subjected to it.
“He is only feeling what Nana Akufo-Addo went through for eight years,” she remarked.
While acknowledging the need to regulate misconduct online, Ms. Daaku insisted that going after social media activists should not be a priority.
She noted that many political activists, including herself, had been insulted and attacked online but never called for arrests.
She concluded that President Mahama should focus his energy on solving pressing problems such as galamsey and the economy instead of concentrating on critics on social media.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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Prof Alidu Seidu files nomination for Tamale Central seat
The newly elected parliamentary candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for Tamale Central, Prof Alidu Seidu, has submitted his nomination forms to the Electoral Commission.
As of 10:00 a.m. today, he was the only person who had filed to contest the seat.
Nomination of candidates will close at the end of the day.
Associate Professor and Head of the Political Science Department at the University of Ghana Legon, Prof. Alidu Seidu won the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary primaries in the Tamale Central constituency with a landslide victory.
The elections, supervised by the party’s Elections and IT Directorate in the Northern Region, saw Prof. Seidu poll 840 votes out of the total valid ballots cast.
His closest contender, Lawyer Hanan Gundadow Abdul-Rahaman, secured 536 votes.
The other aspirants could not make significant gains, with Dr. Seidu Fiter obtaining 44 votes, Aliu Abdul-Hamid 23 votes, and the rest recording fewer than 10 votes each.
In all, 1,500 ballots were cast, with 6 ballots rejected and 7 spoilt ballots recorded.
The results were signed and declared by Dr. Arnold Mashud Abukari, NDC Northern Regional Director of Elections and IT.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) held parliamentary primaries in Tamale Central to choose a candidate for the upcoming by-election following the death of the sitting Member of Parliament, Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed. Dr. Mohammed, who also served as Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, tragically died in a military helicopter crash in the Adansi Akrofuom District on August 6, 2025, alongside seven others.
His passing left the Tamale Central seat vacant, as required by Ghana’s 1992 Constitution.
The Electoral Commission has scheduled the by-election for September 30, 2025. While the NDC moved quickly to open nominations and vet aspirants, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) announced it would not contest the seat, citing the need to respect the somber circumstances and promote national unity.
By: Jacob Aggrey
