The police have arrested two cocoa Purchasing Clerks (PCs) in the Dormaa Municipality of the Bono Region for allegedly short-changing cocoa farmers.

The suspects, Robert Owusu, 63 years, and Kumi Acheaw, 45 years, and PCs for the Yonkopa Company Limited, allegedly bought the beans from farmers at prices below the approved producer price.

Addressing a news conference in Sunyani, Mr Joseph Addae Akwaboa, the Bono Regional Minister, explained that the suspects were picked up by police intelligence, adding that investigations were ongoing to prosecute them.

He said buying cocoa beans below the producer price was detrimental to farmers and the cocoa sector, and could also undermine confidence in the government, as the nation put in place interventions to boost the cocoa sector.

Mr Akwaboa said that the government had made adequate funds to ensure that farmers were paid approved prices, saying that: “The actions of the suspects often create the false impression that the government is indebted to farmers, when in fact the problem lies with non-compliant PCs”.

“Some of the PCs are not doing the right thing. When the funds are released, they fail to pay the farmers accordingly”, the regional minister worried, saying the security services had intensified monitoring to identify and apprehend other offenders.

Mr Akwaboa called on stakeholders in the cocoa value chain to “act patriotically and uphold integrity in their dealings”, saying that: “We are building a country together, and let us be patriotic and ensure fairness to our farmers”.

Mr Joseph Agyemang, a cocoa farmer at Dormaa-Kokroasua, who shared his experience, said that he sold some beans on January 18 and February 2, 2026, the PCs paid him the new producer price.