The Communications Director of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Richard Ahiagbah, has criticised the newly announced cocoa producer price, describing it as “a rip-off” and accusing the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) of deceiving farmers.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile programme on Saturday, August 23, Mr Ahiagbah said the government’s announcement had fallen woefully short of expectations and amounted to a betrayal of trust.

According to him, cocoa farmers had been misled into believing that they would receive a fair price for their produce, only to be offered what he called a “paltry increase” that does not reflect the international market trends.

“This government has consistently promised to improve the livelihoods of farmers, but what we are seeing today is the exact opposite. They owe Ghanaians an apology because they have deceived us all,” he argued.

Mr Ahiagbah further contended that the government had manipulated expectations ahead of the announcement to create the impression of a substantial increase.

“The reality is that farmers have been short-changed. What the NDC has done is a political gimmickry. They raised the hopes of cocoa farmers and dashed them most disappointingly,” he said, stressing that the new price structure would worsen the economic hardships of farming households.

He maintained that a future NPP administration would prioritise transparency in determining producer prices and ensure that farmers benefit directly from favourable global market conditions.

“Our farmers deserve better. They work tirelessly to sustain this economy, and the least any government can do is to be honest with them. We will not rip them off; we will protect their interest,” Mr Ahiagbah pledged.