Cocoa farmers in the Ashanti, Ahafo, and Western North regions are raising concerns over the reduction in the producer price of cocoa for the 2025/26 season.

The farmers say the decision will negatively affect their livelihoods and family welfare.

The price reduction, from GH¢3,625 to GH¢2,587 per bag, has sparked anger among farmers who accuse the government and the Ghana Cocoa Board of failing to protect their interests.

Cocoa farming remains a major source of income for thousands of households in Ghana’s cocoa-growing areas. However, farmers say the latest producer price will worsen their already difficult living conditions.

A cocoa farmer in the Ahafo Region, Agnes Badu, says the price cut will adversely affect her ability to support her children through school after decades of working in the sector.

“I have worked for 40 years as a cocoa farmer. With the new reduction in the cocoa price, I can no longer pay my children’s university fees.

"The previous government paid us a little better, but now the price has been reduced, and it is affecting our livelihood. We don’t even know where to send our complaints.”

In the Ashanti Region, Abena Pokua describes the situation as worsening, noting that the price cut will affect basic household needs.

“We don’t have enough money to buy good food. We suffer on the farm to feed our families, and now the government has reduced the cocoa price. Our lives are at stake.”

A farmer in the Western North Region, Kwame Duah, says he has been in cocoa farming since 1985 and believes the current reduction is unprecedented.

“I started cocoa farming in 1985. Over the years, every government has found a way to manage cocoa pricing, but this reduction for the 2025/26 season has never happened before. It has affected my family and the labourers I work with.”

The farmers are calling on the government to urgently review the cocoa producer price and introduce support measures to cushion farmers against rising production costs.