The Centre for Democratic Movement (CDM) has warned that the government’s decision to reduce the cocoa producer price to GH¢2,587 per 64kg bag could fuel illegal mining and accelerate the destruction of cocoa farmlands across the country.

In a statement issued on Thursday, February 12, 2026, the group said the price cut will make cocoa farming economically unattractive and push frustrated farmers into galamsey as a survival option.

“It is a known and established fact that: When cocoa farming becomes unprofitable, farmers abandon farms and use their farmlands for galamsey,” CDM stated.

The movement said the reduction will “accelerate the destruction of cocoa farmlands,” intensify “water pollution and land degradation,” undermine national anti-galamsey efforts, and deepen “environmental insecurity and food vulnerability.”

“The government cannot claim to be fighting galamsey while simultaneously creating the economic desperation that fuels it,” the statement said.

CDM described the government’s announcement as a “monumental betrayal of public trust,” a “blatant violation of solemn campaign promises,” and a “heartless assault on the dignity, livelihood, and survival of Ghana’s cocoa farmers.”

The group recalled campaign commitments made by the NDC during the 2024 election, arguing that the current decision represents a dramatic reversal.

It quoted President John Dramani Mahama as having told cocoa farmers: “When we win power, we will restore dignity to the cocoa farmer by ensuring that the price of cocoa is increased substantially. Cocoa farmers deserve far better than what they are currently receiving.”

CDM also quoted Mr Mahama as promising at rallies that: “Under an NDC government, cocoa farmers will earn not less than GH¢6,000 per bag, because they are the backbone of our rural economy.”

The statement further referenced comments by Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson while in opposition, quoting him as saying: “The price of cocoa is unacceptable. An NDC government will immediately review it upward to reflect the true value of the farmer’s labour and sacrifice.”

CDM said that “barely a year into governance,” the government has not increased cocoa prices as promised but “slashed them drastically to GH¢2,587 per bag,” describing it as “one of the most shocking policy reversals in Ghana’s recent political history.”

The group said the move insults cocoa farmers at a time when “cost of living is soaring,” farm inputs are expensive, labour costs have escalated, and climate change is worsening yields.

It accused the government of being “dangerously disconnected from the lived realities of rural Ghana,” adding that “a government that campaigns on hope and governs with hardship cannot be trusted.”

CDM demanded an “immediate reversal” of the GH¢2,587 price, implementation of the campaign promise of “not less than GH¢6,000 per 64kg bag,” urgent engagement with farmers and their unions, and a “transparent pricing framework that prioritizes farmer welfare, not political convenience.”