Ghana is intensifying efforts to reform its cocoa sector through renewed talks with Côte d’Ivoire and a strategic partnership with Brazil, aiming to enhance farmer incomes, productivity, and sustainability.
Strengthening Ghana-Côte d’Ivoire Relations for Cocoa Stability
President John Dramani Mahama’s visit to Côte d’Ivoire has revived discussions on Ghana’s cocoa sector, addressing long-standing disparities in cocoa pricing. Despite being the world’s top two cocoa producers, Ghanaian farmers earn significantly less than their Ivorian counterparts. This is largely due to Ghana’s fixed-pricing model, controlled by the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), while Côte d’Ivoire operates a semi-liberalized system that allows farmers to benefit from international price fluctuations.
A key outcome of the discussions was a renewed commitment to the 2017 Côte d’Ivoire-Ghana Strategic Partnership Agreement, which gave birth to the Cocoa Initiative in 2019. This initiative aimed to stabilize cocoa prices and improve farmer earnings. However, Ghana’s financial constraints, including COCOBOD’s debt burden and challenges in securing syndicated loans, have hampered its full implementation.
With global cocoa prices now soaring at approximately $7,915 per metric ton, pressure is mounting for Ghana to adopt a pricing model that offers farmers a fairer share of global earnings. The National President of the Ghana Cooperative Cocoa Farmers Association, Mr. Issifu Issaka, has called for reforms that align Ghana’s system with those of Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, and Nigeria, where farmers directly benefit from international price movements.
Ghana’s New Cocoa Alliance with Brazil
Beyond regional collaboration, Ghana is expanding its cocoa partnerships internationally. The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has signed a Declaration of Intent to Cooperate with ApexBrasil and the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, marking a major step in strengthening bilateral ties.
The agreement was finalized during a high-level meeting at Cocoa House in Accra, as part of a Brazilian Presidential Mission to Africa. Led by Brazilian Ambassador to Ghana, Her Excellency Marirana Madeira, the delegation met with COCOBOD’s Acting Chief Executive and management team to discuss boosting technical and economic cooperation.
Key focus areas of the partnership include:
- Leveraging Brazilian technology to enhance cocoa productivity in Ghana.
- Sharing best practices in disease management to combat threats like Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease (CSSVD) in Ghana and Witches’ Broom disease in Brazil.
- Strengthening research collaborations between the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) and Brazil’s cocoa sector.
- Exploring scientific cooperation in cocoa flavor profiling to improve product quality.
Additionally, Brazil expressed strong interest in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire’s Living Income Differential (LID) of $400 per tonne—a pricing mechanism aimed at ensuring better earnings for farmers. This aligns with broader industry efforts to create a more sustainable cocoa value chain.
Addressing Cocoa Smuggling Across Borders
Cocoa smuggling from Ghana to Côte d’Ivoire remains a persistent issue, driven largely by price disparities. Since Ivorian farmers receive higher payments for their cocoa, many Ghanaian farmers and middlemen illegally transport cocoa beans across the border to secure better prices.
Discussions between Mahama and Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara also covered broader economic cooperation, including the Abidjan-Lagos corridor and the proposed ECOWAS single currency, ECO. If realized, these initiatives could open new trade opportunities for cocoa farmers, enhance regional economic integration, and increase sector revenues.
The Road Ahead for Ghana’s Cocoa Sector
The renewed engagements with Côte d’Ivoire and Brazil offer Ghana a chance to address long-standing structural issues in its cocoa industry. If successfully implemented, these partnerships could:
- Boost Farmer Incomes: Implementing a semi-liberalized pricing system or enhanced price stabilization mechanisms.
- Improve Productivity: Accessing advanced Brazilian agricultural technologies to enhance yields and combat diseases.
- Strengthen Market Influence: Increasing collaboration among the world’s five largest cocoa producers—Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Brazil, Nigeria, and Ecuador—to gain greater bargaining power in the international market.
