A senior official at the Presidency says Ghana’s cocoa farmers received as little as 30 per cent of the Free-On-Board (FOB) price under the previous administration, a concern he says became a key campaign issue for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) ahead of the 2024 elections.

Dr Peter Boamah Otokunor, Director of Presidential Initiatives in Agriculture and Agribusiness at the Office of the President, made the claim in an interview with JoyNews’ Gemma Appiah while outlining the Mahama government’s plans to reform the cocoa sector.

According to him, the share of export earnings going to farmers during the Akufo-Addo administration was significantly lower than what the NDC believed farmers deserved.

“Between 2017 and 2024, the highest the government gave to the cocoa farmer is 30% of the FOB price,” Dr Otokunor said.

“That was our bone of contention. That was our worry,” he added.

His remarks come at a time when the Mahama administration is engaging cocoa farmers in several cocoa-growing communities to explain recent pricing decisions and outline broader reforms for the sector.

In the 2024/2025 season, for example, earlier forward sales contracts entered into by COCOBOD at lower international prices meant Ghana could not immediately pass on higher global cocoa prices to farmers.

That issue became a major talking point during the 2024 election campaign, with the NDC accusing the then government of shortchanging cocoa farmers.

Dr Otokunor said the party’s engagements with cocoa-growing communities at the time reinforced those concerns.

According to him, the Mahama administration’s current reforms aim to ensure greater transparency in cocoa pricing and improve the share of export earnings that ultimately reaches farmers.

Ghana’s cocoa sector remains one of the country’s most important economic pillars, supporting an estimated 800,000 farm families and generating about $2 billion in foreign exchange annually.