The recent increase in Ghana’s cocoa producer price has sparked renewed optimism among farmers, but key industry figures are warning that illegal mining could undermine the gains if urgent action is not taken to protect cocoa-growing areas.
Under the new price regime announced on October 2, 2025, cocoa farmers will now receive GHS 3,625 per bag, equivalent to GHS 58,000 per tonne — a 12.27% jump from the previous rate of GHS 3,228 announced just two months earlier.
While the adjustment has been widely welcomed, stakeholders say it must be matched by robust efforts to combat the twin threats of galamsey and land conversion, which continue to erode cocoa farmlands and threaten Ghana’s export revenues.
At a farmers’ meeting in Kumasi, Nana Charles Owusu, Chief Farmer for the Western North Region and a COCOBOD board member, applauded the Mahama-led government’s responsiveness but cautioned that the sustainability of cocoa farming hinges on protecting arable land.
“The new price will motivate many of our farmers, but if we don’t stop illegal mining, our hard work will come to nothing,” he warned. “Cocoa cannot thrive when farmlands are being destroyed daily.”
The Cocoa, Coffee, and Sheanut Farmers Association, which represents some of the country’s most decorated cocoa producers, also expressed appreciation for the double price increment within a single season — a move described by its spokesperson, Imoro Issifu Alhassan, as “unprecedented.”
However, Alhassan stressed that farmers’ productivity and livelihoods depend on more than pricing. “It’s not just about money. We also need policies that protect our lands, ensure access to fertilizers, and promote sustainable farming,” he said.
Responding to the concerns, Jerome K. Sam, Head of Public Affairs at COCOBOD, reaffirmed that the government was scaling up collaboration with security agencies to clamp down on illegal mining in cocoa-growing communities.
“We are determined to make sure that the cocoa sector is not compromised. The price increment must translate into real impact, and that means protecting farms,” he noted.
Agricultural analysts say that while the new producer price provides relief amid rising production costs, the ongoing destruction of cocoa lands by galamsey operators remains a ticking time bomb for Ghana’s $2 billion cocoa industry.
For many farmers, the government’s latest move signals hope — but also a reminder that cocoa’s future depends on how firmly the country defends its land and water resources.
