Catholic Bishops’ Conference Sounds Alarm on Ghana’s Cocoa Crisis: Delays in Payments, Price Cuts Pushing Farmers into Hardship
The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) has issued a strongly worded press statement condemning the deepening crisis in the country’s cocoa sector, describing delays in farmer payments, the recent sharp reduction in producer prices, and systemic failures as morally indefensible and a threat to national justice.
In the statement released on Friday, February 20, 2026, and signed by GCBC President Most Rev. Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi (Bishop of Sunyani Diocese), the Conference highlighted the severe human cost of the ongoing challenges at the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) and in global cocoa markets.
“For months, many farmers have endured delays in payment for cocoa already delivered, resulting in unpaid labour, disrupted schooling, mounting debt, and growing vulnerability to illegal mining,” the bishops noted. They described the situation as one where farmers “bear the full burden of systemic and historical failures.”
The Conference specifically criticised the 28.6% cut in the 2025/2026 main crop producer price—from GH¢48,000 to GH¢33,120 per tonne—calling it unfair and eroding already fragile confidence. The bishops argued that “equity and justice demand that accumulated surpluses be used to cushion farmers in difficult years,” rather than penalising them for external factors such as volatile international prices and internal mismanagement.
“Producer prices should at least be maintained in difficult times, especially since farmers did not benefit proportionately during years of high earnings,” the statement read. “To penalise them for circumstances beyond their control would be insensitive and morally indefensible.”
The bishops also expressed grave concern over Ghana’s eroding global standing in cocoa production. They pointed out that Ecuador is on course to overtake Ghana as the world’s second-largest producer, while the combined output of Nigeria and Cameroon is emerging as a formidable third force. Compounding factors include climate change impacts, land degradation, ageing farmer populations, and the destructive effects of galamsey (illegal small-scale mining) on cocoa farms.
The GCBC warned that Ghana stands “at a strategic crossroads,” with the future of one of its most important economic pillars—and the livelihoods of nearly one million farmers—at stake.
Among its key recommendations, the Conference demanded:
Immediate settlement of all outstanding payments and arrears to farmers
Transparent financial restructuring and accountability at COCOBOD
Sustained and fair producer prices, even in challenging market conditions
Intensified investment in productivity enhancement, research, youth involvement, and local value addition/processing
A depoliticised national dialogue focused squarely on farmers’ welfare
The bishops disclosed that a comprehensive pastoral letter detailing the crisis and proposed solutions has already been privately submitted to President John Dramani Mahama and the leadership of Parliament for urgent consideration and action.
“The rescue of Ghana’s cocoa industry is not merely an economic task. It is a moral imperative,” the statement declared. “Justice for cocoa farmers is justice for Ghana.”
