The Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), and representatives of Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs) convened for a strategic workshop to strengthen internal cocoa purchasing safeguards.
The collaborative session served as a crucial reminder of stakeholder roles in ensuring transparency, equity, and fairness, as well as preventing malpractice across the cocoa supply chain.
Opening the workshop, the Deputy Chief Executive in charge of Operations, Dr. James Kutsoati warned against any practice that directly or indirectly shortchanges cocoa farmers, emphasising that the session aims to establish joint operational compliance that prioritises the interests of farmers at every level.
Dr. Kofi Kutsoati highlighted the newly enacted COCOBOD Act 2026, pointing to its sweeping reforms designed to protect farms and grower livelihoods.
According to him, a primary breakthrough within the Act is the overhaul of cocoa sector financing through the introduction of a novel domestic funding model, transitioning Ghana away from the over three decades’ syndicated loan facility, a system that, while historically effective, had increasingly proven unreliable.
Addressing participants’ concerns regarding pricing, Dr. Kutsoati clarified that the key determinants of farmer payouts include the achieved Free-On-Board (FOB) value, and the prevailing exchange rate, with a mandate to pay at least 70% of the FOB value directly to the farmer.
“We have moved away from the cost-plus model that somehow shifted operational overhead onto farmers,” he stated.
He noted again that, “A strong achieved FOB price directly translates to a better income for the farmer, which is a major win for the industry”.
Dr. Kutsoati urged the GSA to step up field surveillance and deepen its collaboration with COCOBOD to identify and penalise bad actors who tamper with weighing scales.
He similarly tasked LBC executives with maintaining rigorous ethical oversight over their respective Purchasing Clerks (PCs) to eliminate practices that erode farmer incomes.
During a technical presentation, Mr. Frank Okai of the GSA called on LBCs to ensure that all their depots are equipped with at least three verified test weights and that these weights are used strictly for their intended purpose.
He cautioned LBCs and their PCs to enforce the use of standardised, certified, and verified weighing scales during cocoa purchases, ensuring scale setups cannot be manipulated to shortchange farmers.
He further warned that non-compliance with standards during any inspection or monitoring exercise will attract penalties, including the suspension and revocation of licenses.
Mr. Okai concluded by tasking LBC representatives to cascade the training and its warning signals to their PCs to achieve full compliance and cooperation.
