Business
These are the 17 Reforms in Ghana’s Cocoa Sector Announced by the Minister Yesterday
Yesterday, Thursday, February 12, 2026, Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson stood before the nation and did something unprecedented: he named the rot, itemized the failures, and then—piece by piece—laid out a rescue plan for Ghana’s battered cocoa sector.
With thousands of farmers unpaid since November 2025, 50,000 metric tonnes of cocoa stranded at port, and COCOBOD buried under GH¢5.8 billion in legacy debt, the emergency Cabinet meeting on February 11 that preceded his press conference wasn’t a policy retreat. It was a rescue mission.
Here are the 17 reforms the Minister announced—and what they actually mean for the farmer, the sector, and the future of Ghanaian cocoa.
1. Immediate Payment to All Affected Cocoa Farmers
“Cabinet has accordingly directed the Ghana Cocoa Board to commence immediate payment of all affected cocoa farmers.”
No committees. No feasibility studies. No “further consultations.” The directive is active. COCOBOD has been ordered to pay—now. Farmers who haven’t seen a cedi since November 2025 are first in line.
2. New COCOBOD Bill to Automate Producer Price Adjustments
The current system allows a CEO to decide what a farmer earns. That ends.
The incoming Cocoa Board Bill will legislate automatic price adjustments tied to three variables: world market price, exchange rate, and other key indicators. No more discretion. No more negotiation. The formula becomes law.
3. 70% Minimum FOB Guarantee—Locked in Legislation
This is the headline. Cabinet has approved a minimum 70% of gross FOB price to be paid to the cocoa farmer.
Not a promise. Not a target. A floor, written into law. When global prices rise, the farmer’s income rises with it—automatically, immediately, and without political intervention.
4. 90% Interim Relief for the Remainder of 2025/2026
Because reforms take time but farmers eat daily, the Producer Price Review Committee met yesterday afternoon ahead of the presser and approved an emergency 90% of achieved gross FOB for the rest of this crop season.
At $4,200 per ton and the prevailing exchange rate, that translates to GH¢41,392 per ton and GH¢2,587 per bag—effective immediately.
5. A New Financing Model: Cocoa Bonds, Not Syndicated Loans
The 32-year-old syndicated loan model is dead. In its place: domestic cocoa bonds.
COCOBOD will issue bonds to raise a revolving fund for cocoa purchases, repayable within each crop year. The goal is independence from buyer financing and the predatory contract terms that came with it.
6. Revival of PBC (Produce Buying Company) as Market Leader
State-owned PBC has been “completely thrown out of business” under the old model. Cabinet has ordered its immediate revival to become the leading Licensed Buying Company in Ghana.
This is not symbolism. This is the state re-entering the buying space to stabilize competition and protect farmers.
7. 50% Minimum Domestic Processing Mandate
Beginning in the 2026/2027 crop season, a minimum of 50% of all cocoa beans must be processed locally.
This will be encoded in the new COCOBOD Bill. No more exporting raw beans while Ghanaian factories sit idle.
8. Immediate Allocation of Remainder Beans to Domestic Processors
For the current crop year, Cabinet has directed that all remaining beans be allocated to local processing companies.
The Minister confirmed that private processors met with him and the Trade Minister yesterday morning and “indicated they have the capacity and willingness to process more than 50% of Ghana’s cocoa beans going forward.”
9. Revival of CPC (Cocoa Processing Company) as Lead Processor
CPC will be revamped as a matter of priority to become Ghana’s flagship cocoa processor.
The Minister did not put a price tag on the revamp, stating operational details will be announced by CPC’s board and management. But the directive is clear: CPC will no longer be an afterthought.
10. GH¢5.8 Billion Legacy Debt Conversion to Ministry of Finance and Bank of Ghana
COCOBOD currently owes:
- GH¢3.7 billion to the Ministry of Finance
- GH¢1.38 billion to the Bank of Ghana
Cabinet has directed that this GH¢5.8 billion be converted onto the books of MoF and BoG to restore COCOBOD’s positive equity and strengthen its balance sheet for the new financing model.
11. GH¢4.35 Billion Road Debt Transferred to Ministries
Between 2014 and 2024, COCOBOD awarded GH¢26.5 billion in road contracts—GH¢21.5 billion between 2018 and 2021 alone.
After a rationalization exercise supervised by the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Roads, the exposure has been reduced from GH¢21.7 billion to GH¢4.35 billion. Cabinet has directed that this remaining liability be transferred to the Ministry of Roads and Ministry of Finance for payment.
12. COCOBOD Banned from Quasi-Fiscal Expenditures—With Punishments
This is a line-item revolution.
The new Cocoa Board Bill will prohibit COCOBOD from road construction and other non-core expenditures entirely. And here’s the kicker: it will come with punishment if they ever do so.
No more using cocoa money to build roads. No more “special requests.” The board’s job is cocoa. Nothing else.
13. $500 Million World Bank Facility for Cocoa Roads
Announced in the 2026 budget, this facility will take over the construction of cocoa roads entirely.
Roads will still be built. Farmers will still access their farms. But COCOBOD will no longer finance them, and the Ministry of Roads will be accountable for delivery.
14. Concurrent Forensic Audit and Criminal Investigation
Cabinet has directed the Attorney General to commission concurrent forensic audit and criminal investigation into COCOBOD’s activities over the last 8 years.
Not an internal review. Not a “special audit” filed away in a drawer. A criminal investigation, running parallel to financial forensics, with the full weight of the Office of the Attorney General.
15. Immediate Operational Reforms and Cost-Cutting
“Wasteful and uncontrolled expenditure practices are to be curbed immediately.”
Cabinet has directed the Ministry of Finance to initiate immediate reforms at COCOBOD to streamline operations and cut costs. No specific figures were attached, but the directive is unambiguous: the era of unchecked spending ends now.
16. Jute Sacks Mismanagement Referred for Investigation
Responding to a journalist’s question about 18 containers of cocoa jute sacks stranded at port and a fresh $48 million letter of credit opened for unclaimed sacks, the Minister confirmed the matter is part of the Attorney General’s investigation.
“For five years in a row, all the previous administration did was buy jute sacks, not clear them, and order a new set,” Forson said. “It was more or less a procurement agenda, not buying to bag cocoa.”
17. New Producer Price Announced: GH¢41,392/Ton
Effective Thursday, February 12, 2026, the producer price for the remainder of the 2025/2026 crop season is:
- GH¢41,392 per metric ton
- GH¢2,587 per bag of 64kg
This represents 90% of the achieved gross FOB of $4,200 per ton—a deliberate cushion against the global price collapse while maintaining sector sustainability.
“Never Again”: A New Era?
At least four times during the press conference, the Minister returned to the same phrase: “Never again.”
Never again will a CEO have the power to cheat the farmer. Never again will a board chair determine who gets paid and who doesn’t. Never again will cocoa money build roads while farmers cannot afford school fees.
“Unfortunately, in the past, when the world market price moved up, the cocoa farmer did not benefit,” Forson said. “When the exchange rate depreciated, the cocoa farmer did not benefit. Never again should this practice be allowed to persist.”
The reforms announced yesterday are not merely administrative. They are structural. They are legislative. And if implemented, they will fundamentally rewire who cocoa works for in Ghana.
A California ride-share driver advocacy group filed a complaint Monday, April 20, 2026, in state court against Uber Technologies, Inc., alleging the company violated Proposition 22 and should be barred from classifying its drivers as independent contractors.
Rideshare Drivers United (RDU), a California nonprofit representing more than 20,000 app-based drivers in the state, claimed Uber breached the Protect App-Based Drivers and Services Act, as amended by 2020’s Proposition 22.
Allegations in the Complaint
The complaint alleges that Uber:
- Terminates drivers on grounds not specified in their contracts
- Fails to provide a meaningful appeals process for deactivated drivers
- Prohibits drivers from declining rides based on customer location or the presence of a service animal
- Withholds sufficient earnings information for drivers to verify they are receiving required compensation
Legal Argument and Requested Relief
RDU, represented by attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan of Lichten & Liss-Riordan, P.C., argues that because Uber has not complied with Proposition 22, the company cannot invoke its independent contractor protections.
The suit seeks a court declaration that Uber is disqualified from asserting its drivers are independent contractors. Such a ruling would expose Uber to misclassification claims under the California Labor Code.
Background on Proposition 22
Proposition 22 passed in November 2020 after a coalition of gig companies spent more than $220 million on the campaign. Uber alone spent more than $50 million supporting the measure.
The measure exempted app-based transportation and delivery companies from Assembly Bill 5, which had codified the state’s ABC test for employee classification.
The California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 22’s constitutionality in Castellanos v. State of California in July 2024.
Case Status
The case has no trial date. Uber has not publicly responded to the complaint.
Abidjan, Ivory Coast – Cocoa farmers across Ivory Coast, the world’s largest producer of the commodity, are calling for more consistent rainfall to improve the quality and size of beans in the ongoing mid-crop season running from March to August.
Although the West African nation is currently in its official rainy season (April to mid-November), rainfall was below average in most cocoa-growing regions last week.
Farmers say the drier conditions are not yet threatening the overall health of trees, which carry a good mix of small, medium, and large pods, but additional moisture is urgently needed to support bean development for the peak harvesting period between May and July.
In the west-central region of Daloa and central areas such as Bongouanou and Yamoussoukro, where rainfall was significantly below the five-year average, farmers noted that the current heat is helping already-harvested beans dry well. However, they stressed that young and developing pods require steady rain.
“It’s very hot. The beans are well dried, but the trees need enough rain for the rest of the mid-crop season,” said Albert N’Zue, a farmer near Daloa, where only 9.7 mm of rain fell last week — 11.9 mm below average.
In contrast, the western region of Soubre and eastern region of Abengourou received above-average rainfall last week. Farmers in these areas, along with those in southern districts like Agboville and Divo (where rains were below average), stressed the need for abundant and regular precipitation.
“We need plenty of steady rain to grow large, high-quality beans,” said Kouassi Kouame, a farmer near Soubre, which recorded 28.6 mm of rain (6.2 mm above average).
Weekly average temperatures across the country ranged between 29°C and 33.2°C (84°F to 92°F). Farmers remain generally optimistic, noting that harvesting has started to pick up and that cloudy skies suggest more rain could arrive in the coming weeks.
Cocoa production in Ivory Coast is highly sensitive to weather patterns, and the mid-crop (also known as the “light crop”) typically accounts for 20–30% of the country’s annual output.
Stronger rainfall in the coming weeks will be critical for determining the final size and quality of this season’s beans, with potential implications for global cocoa supply and prices.
Abuja, Nigeria – The Nigerian government has introduced a sweeping import ban on 17 categories of goods from countries outside the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in a major policy shift designed to protect local industries and promote regional trade.
The prohibition, signed by Finance Minister Wale Edun and effective from April 1, 2026, forms part of Nigeria’s revised 2026 Fiscal Policy Measures and Tariff Amendments.
It specifically targets goods originating from non-ECOWAS nations while allowing freer trade within the West African bloc. A 90-day grace period has been granted to importers who had already opened Form ‘M’ and entered into irrevocable trade agreements before the effective date.
Affected Products
The revised import prohibition list includes the following key items:
Live or dead birds, including frozen poultry
Pork/beef and related meat products
Bird eggs (except hatching eggs for breeding/research)
Refined vegetable oil (with limited exceptions)
Cane or beet sugar and flavoured sucrose
Cocoa butter, powder and cakes
Tomatoes, tomato paste and concentrates
Sugary and flavoured non-alcoholic beverages
Bagged cement
Medicaments (pharmaceutical products) and waste pharmaceuticals
NPK fertilisers
Soaps and detergents
Corrugated paper, cartons and boxes
Certain hollow glass bottles
Flat-rolled iron or steel products (corrugated)
Ballpoint pens and refills
In addition, the government introduced a 2% “green tax” surcharge on motor vehicles with engine capacities between 2,000cc and 3,999cc, and those above 4,000cc.
Strategic Objectives
The measures are intended to boost domestic production, reduce reliance on foreign imports, conserve foreign exchange, and strengthen intra-African trade under the ECOWAS framework and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). By restricting imports from outside the region, Nigeria aims to create a larger market for locally manufactured goods and encourage investment in agriculture, manufacturing, and pharmaceuticals.
The policy comes shortly after the government announced tariff reductions on certain items such as cars, palm oil, and sugar, signalling a calibrated approach to trade liberalisation within the region while protecting strategic sectors.
This latest fiscal intervention underscores Nigeria’s determination to reindustrialise its economy and reduce its historically high dependence on imported consumer goods.
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